Out of the Frying Pan and into the Empire
by AreYouFrikkenSerious
Summary: The War took a turn for the worse. Using an ancient piece of Fuinjutsu, Naruto and many others are sent to a new world to start over. However he is soon dragged into Night Raid in order to help protect his people. Pairings: NaruXHina, Possible TatsuniXAkameXMine, NajendaXLubbock. Don't expect there to be any Citruses in this story... Rated M to be Safe. Undergoing Rewrite.
1. Chapter 1 - 3

**Greetings all to my fifth fanfiction.**

 **The elements taken from 'Akame ga Kill' will be from both the Anime AND the Manga, as well as my own creativity (of which there is a lot of in the beginning), while the elements from the Naruto side are mostly AU.**

 **Like always it will be a set of 3-chapter uploads…Prolog and Epilog not included in the counting.**

 **The speech-thought-jutsu name Font styles are the same as in my previous story, 'Lord Marksman and Vanadis'…which is pretty much the same as most of my stories thus far…However I'd like to add a new addition for this story:**

 **"Shut up, brat!"** Biju/Naruto-Kurama talk

 **Prolog**

Elemental Nations, 1 year post beginning of the 4th shinobi world war

The white haired man stood atop the large boulder, looking out across the devastated landscape.

A year ago the 5 elemental nations united to fight against a common threat and to prevent the resurrection of the ancient entity known as the 10-Tails. At first the fighting went well for the Allied forces…until a surprise attack on Iwagakure no Sato, the village hidden in the stone, led by a number of powerful reanimated shinobi, effectively defeated the Iwa-Shinobi, who withdrew from the other battlefields to retake their home…only to walk right into a trap.

The ensuing fight was long and brutal, with the Iwa shinobi fighting to their last and almost even defeating the enemy forces…had there not been any reanimated shinobi amongst the enemy ranks.

Shortly afterwards Sunagakure no Sato, the village hidden in the sand, as well as Kumogakure no Sato, the village hidden in the clouds, were both attacked, though both Villages were eventually retaken…at very heavy cost. Both the Cloud and the Sand were forced to end hostilities, especially since their respective leaders both died during their respective assaults to retake their homes.

The shinobi from Kirigakure no Sato, the village hidden in the mist, withdrew in anticipation of an assault on their village and arrived in time to defeat said assault with minimal casualties…only to be bogged down as a large force began besieging their nation.

Hatake Kakashi, 6th Hokage of Konohagekure no Sato, the village hidden in the leaf, sighed.

His shinobi remained on the battlefield for as long as they could…mostly thanks to the aid of the last remaining Jinchuriki in the elemental nations. With the aid of that persons shadow clones and immensely powerful jutsu, the Leaf shinobi continued fighting on their own for the past 9 months. However without the support of the other nations they had slowly been pushed back to the borders of Hi no Kuni, the land of fire, where they held out for a while. Eventually their losses forced the shinobi to withdraw to Konoha, which was unfortunately overrun after three months of constant assaults by the enemy. By this time it had become clear that the enemy troops only actively attacked shinobi.

Eventually, to ensure the continued survival of the Civilian population, Kakashi had to make the most difficult decision of his life: he decided to leave Konoha and draw the enemy force away from the village.

The plan would have ended in failure had an old, and believed dead, friend of Kakashi's hadn't had a change of heart and returned to Konoha.

Uchiha Obito used the power of his Sharingan to safely teleport the Leaf Shinobi to a different location…an Island where a very, very powerful clan had once lived and made their last stand over 20 years earlier. Immediately upon arriving, the leaf shinobi began preparing for their own last stand, making the bridge leading to the ruins of the former shinobi village of Uzushiogakure, the village hidden in the whirlpool. Some of the surviving Shinobi from Kumo and Suna also came to help, choosing to die fighting rather than surrendering.

"Kakashi." Someone called out. The man turned and looked at his old friend, Obito, who was approaching.

"Obito." He acknowledged, not in a disrespectful tone…the long war had tired everyone to the bone…except for a certain hyperactive, knuckleheaded, unpredictable, formerly loud and mischievous Shinobi, Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto, Jinchuriki of the 9-Tailed Fox, Kurama. If the war had affected him in any way, it was only to make his resolve even stronger…as well as his powers…at great cost.

"One of Naruto's clones has found something in the ruins that you have to see." Obito told Kakashi.

"What has he found this time?" he asked.

"Well…" Obito scratched his head, "It would be better if you went and saw it for yourself."

Kakashi sighed before following his friend across the bridge.

Shortly afterwards

"What…is…this?" Kakashi stammered as he stood before a large sealing array. He had expected Naruto to have found a weapon or some secret chamber…and he wasn't wrong on the second guess. It was what was IN the secret chamber that brought him into the current state.

"From what I can tell from the short time studying this seal, it is a class 6 Uzumaki space-time sealing array." Naruto said, not looking up from where he was studying the array.

"In other words?" Obito asked. Whilst he himself was a level 4 seal master, he was unsure why Naruto mentioned his clan…or why he used the term 'class' instead of 'level'.

"If I were to compare it to the standard Seal grading, it is about a level 18." Naruto shrugged. Since the war started he had been using his clones to learn Fuinjutsu…something that he picked up with surprising ease thanks to his Uzumaki blood.

"And Jiraya-sama reached the 5th class in Uzumaki Fuinjutsu." Kakashi muttered, remembering the white haired perverted Sage.

"And I am currently only a class 4…this thing's way out of my league." Naruto stated.

"Pity that your new eyes are unable to help you here." Obito said, causing Naruto to close his eyes as a number of VERY painful memories flashed through his mind. "Sorry." Obito quickly apologized, seeing his reaction.

That topic was taboo with him.

"Can you at least tell what it does?" Kakashi asked.

" _This seal is supposed to open a portal to another dimension…_ " Naruto said in a voice that sounded like he was quoting from a text.

"Will it work?" Obito asked.

"According to the scroll I found in this chamber, the Seal did successfully activate, but didn't function properly." Naruto told him, before bending down to study a very small section of the seal that was very fine in detail. "The Vortex was too unstable and completely disintegrated everything that came in contact with it."

"You think I could use my Sharingan to help?" Obito asked, pointing at his two Sharingan. Kakashi had returned his own Sharingan to Obito and in exchange received another implanted eye that successfully bonded with him.

"Probably." Naruto said. Just then the alarm went off again, signaling another attack.

"Naruto! Obito! Get this thing working. I will hold the enemy off for as long as I can." Kakashi said as he walked out of the chamber.

15 minutes later the seal activated and Obito used his Kamui to create a stable rift in time and space.

 **Ok…just to make some things clear for now:**

 **Yes, the 'Uzumaki 'and the 'Universal' Fuinjutsu difficulty ratings are different:**

 **There are 6 'classes' of difficulty in the Uzumaki difficulty system while there are 10 'levels' in the universal system…officially…and just to give you an example on the difference, a class 3 Uzumaki seal is a level 9 universal seal…and the difficulties/complexities are exponentially more so the higher the number…**

 **…**

 **And Yes, Obito didn't die as there was technically no fight with Kaguya…or Madara**

 **Anyway…**

 **Chapter 1, New beginnings**

Akame ga Kill universe

Far to the south of the Imperial Capital, deep in the mountains, in a large cave, the very air shattered and 250-ish men, woman and children (mainly children and 'fresh Genin' though) literally flew through the rift, which closed itself behind them.

"Where the hell are we?" one of the oldest males shouted. He had messy brown hair and had red fang like markings on his cheeks. Next to him lay the unconscious form of a large white dog, whose left forelimb was bent at an unnatural angle. "Oh Shit…Sakura…We need your help here!" the man shouted out. A pink haired female ran over. Soon a green glow surrounded her hands as she began healing the dog's forelimb.

"I have to agree with Kiba's question." a girl with long Platinum blonde hair and green eyes said. "And where are the others?"

Those who weren't knocked unconscious looked around, finding that she was right…there should have been a lot more of them there…as in, thrice the number of people as were here…

The sound of stone shattering echoed through the cave.

Everyone's attention was drawn to a blonde male who had just slammed his fist into the floor near the entrance of the cave they were all in, forming a small crater. In his other hand was an opened scroll and those near him could see him shaking slightly and heard his sobs. Soon he began to cry, which turned into crying into the shoulder of a dark-blue haired female who ran up to him and embraced him.

"Naruto-kun…what is wrong…" she asked before seeing the writing on the scroll, "…It can't be…" she gasped as she felt tears coming to her own eyes.

Sakura, who had finished with Akamaru, the dog whose forelimb was broken, took the scroll from Naruto's hand and began reading it out loud.

 _"Naruto,_

 _If you are reading this it must mean that you have safely arrived on the other side and you are wondering why we aren't with you._

 _I know that I said that this scroll held a seal that would bring us together is case we got separated during the travel through the rift , but that was a lie, and I swear on my soul that I didn't want to do that to any of you._

 _The truth is that most of the adults and I chose to remain here in the elemental nations and destroy the seal array after you made it through in order to protect you and our legacy._

 _…_ _"_

Everyone, male, female and non-human, was absolutely silent aside from the sobbing Naruto and the occasional sobs from a few in the group. Sakura opened up the scroll further to reveal more of the message. Naruto had clearly not read all of it.

 _"…_

 _At the bottom of this scroll there is a seal containing Items I thought would be best if I hand them over to you now before it is too late._

 _I hope that you will forgive me for lying to you and for breaking my promise, but this is the only way I could think of to ensure that the 'Will of Fire' would continue._

 _I have one last request and that is for you to ensure that you continue being you: A Human…a Shinobi…a Friend!_

 _Your friend and teacher,_

 _Kakashi."_

By now everyone was sobbing or crying silently as Sakura unsealed the contents of the storage seal at the bottom of the scroll, revealing a green flak jacket and a certificate for Naruto's promotion to Jonin rank. There was another pile of items, though this one contained two items: a long sword and a white cloak.

Sakura and a red eyed Naruto immediately recognized the sword as the one that belonged to Sasuke, their late teammate and best friend.

Only Naruto recognized the white cloak for what it was.

The others watched in awe as he put on the flak jacket and the cloak, their grief being relieved somewhat and replaced by surprise when they saw the word on the back: 'Hope'.

With shaking hands Naruto took the sword from Sakura's hands. He buckled it onto his back, the same way that his late friend had always done.

To everyone's surprise he then removed his forehead protector. Their eyebrows rose in alarm when he took out a kunai and began cutting into the metal.

"Naruto…" several of them near shouted, only to stop when they realized that he hadn't cut a scar through the leaf symbol, but instead had added 4 other symbols, two on either side of the leaf.

"We are not just the survivors of the Hidden leaf." Naruto said. "We are the survivors of the 5 nations as well." With that he tied the forehead protector back on his head. At first nobody moved, until moments later the dark haired girl who gave Naruto a shoulder to cry on took her own forehead protector and did the same. Soon everyone was busy carving the symbols of Sunagakure, Kumogakure, Iwagakure and Kirigakure onto their forehead protectors as well.

Soon everyone began being overcome by tiredness and began laying out their bedrolls. There were several people who were sharing theirs, primarily those who were in a relationship, but also some who were very close friends (though the latter consisted only of young children).

Naruto was one of the former…

"Thanks, Hinata-chan." Naruto told the dark-blue haired girl who laid out their bedroll.

Although they were not officially dating (With the war and all they didn't have the time for that), Naruto and the now known as Hinata had been in a relationship for about half a year, after she had (once again) confessed to Naruto…whilst a large battle was raging around them (once again)…where she had nearly died (once again)…after unveiling a new technique (once again)…and ignoring Naruto's shouts for her to run (once again)… **(anyone see a pattern or have a sense of Déjà vu here?)**

People had playfully teased her for a short time afterwards because of her tendency to confess things during battles, going so far as suggesting that they should go into battle more often so she could confess more often to Naruto…only during the last month did she start not going atomic and fainting and instead laughed with the others.

All around them the others were going quiet as sleep overtook them. They didn't need to set up sentries, considering that when they walked to the cave mouth they found themselves half way up a mountain with no way up or down, just a sheer drop.

Just in case though, Naruto put up a low level barrier to at least notify them of any unwanted guests.

Starting tomorrow, he knew that things were about to become very hectic indeed.

The following few days were spent exploring the surrounding area and discovery. On the very first day one of the patrols had a run in with an odd looking creature that attacked them immediately, though the shinobi were able to defeat it without major problems. Since then the patrols did their best to avoid the new fauna.

On the 5th day they came across what appeared to be a battlefield. Broken spears and arrows were scattered across the area, but what was absolutely revolting to the shinobi were the few piles of bones near the remains of camp fires…human bones…smashed to pieces and showed signs of having been gnawed upon…

Following that bit of news, it was almost unanimously decided to secretly eliminate all the cannibalistic tribes in the immediate area and create a new hidden village on the mountain.

The only people who were against this plan were Naruto, Hinata and Shikamaru, though all three had to agree that there was nothing else they could do. Naruto only gave his consent if those who would do the attacking would swear that they'd both make the peoples' ends quick and painless and to make it appear as though rival factions had attacked the tribes.

Out of the 258 survivors, he allowed only 40 on this task. He originally only said 30, but was talked into raising that number. The rest would begin building the village and looking for possible food sources.

One of the first things those who could use Doton jutsu did was to create and reinforce a relatively large tunnel running through the mountain, connecting the location they had chosen with a suitable spot where they would eventually build a bridge that spanned across the valley. Meanwhile, Naruto used his clones to gather wood from the trees inside the valley…well…until said clones discovered that the valley was pretty much one huge death trap with huge creatures roaming the forest floor…each powerful enough to be labeled as an high B-rank/low A-rank Beast.

They had their very own Training Area 44, known as the Forest of Death…and they were all overjoyed **(Read with dripping sarcasm…)** that they were right in the middle of it.

The food problem was resolved when it was discovered that the weird looking creatures outside of the 'Area 44 remake' were discovered to be edible…and tasted surprisingly good…if cooked properly, as in not cooked by Sakura…

And so, over the next month the survivors built their new village and cleared the neighboring hostile tribes, the latter being done successfully except for one thing…they burned the bones, leaving no traces whatsoever. This would eventually lead to certain powers in the north to become curious and investigate…

Far to the north, near the imperial capital

At a secret base located in the wilderness several miles away from the imperial capital, a group of 7 people were assembled around an 8th person with a mechanized arm and an eye-patch.

"I have a mission for all of us in the south." She said. The others started at that.

"The south?" a short, pink haired girl said/shouted out. "That is not where we should be!"

"I have to agree with Mine on that." A brown haired boy, the most recent to join the group, said. "We have to take care of the corruption in the capital…" he and any future complaints were silenced when the initial speaker raised her still biological arm.

"Tatsumi, I agree with you that our job is here, but HQ has sent word that we need to investigate the sudden disappearances of numerous tribes in the southern territories." She sighed. "According to the news, over a dozen tribes have completely disappeared in the span of a single month. At first it was assumed that the culprits were other tribes…"

"That in itself isn't unusual, though the number of tribes is indeed unusual." A large man with a weird looking hair style said. "Most of the southern tribes deep in the mountains are known to be cannibals."

"True, except there was no trace of cannibalism in any of the scouted village remains." The female sighed. "Normally there would have been piles of bones, but even those are missing…"

"What does that mean?" a very pretty, purple haired girls with glasses asked.

"Sheele, you really are an idiot." Mine said. "It means that something else is roaming around the area…wait…" she and everyone slowly turned to look at their leader as realization set in.

"My thoughts exactly. The affected areas are located near the border between the empire and the southern territories, so the investigation shouldn't take too long." The leader said.

"When do we leave?" a green haired male asked.

"At first light. Prepare for a lengthy expedition, the investigation may be easy, but we have a lot of ground to cover."

Back in the new shinobi village

"Naruto." Sakura called out as she and her exploration party returned. She and three others had gone to explore the territory to the north.

"Sakura." Naruto got up from where he was sitting in meditation and hugged his teammate. "What did you find?"

"Well, to the north there is a huge army camped just inside the mountain range." Sakura told him.

"Anything else?" Naruto asked.

"Yes. There are three tribes near that army that are completely different to the others…they are not cannibals." Naruto looked at her.

"Well, that is the best news since we found a new food source…" Naruto said, half joking.

Sakura cracked a smile at that. Her friend had been in a depressed state ever since the culling began and the slight joking symbolized his return to normal, albeit slowly.

"Anything about the camp that I need to know?" Naruto asked.

"Other than that, it is at least a quarter of the size of Konoha had been before Pain's assault and was heavily defended, there are at least 8,000 people living there." Sakura said.

Naruto looked at her.

"Summon Ino and every Yamanaka capable of transferring memories/information between people's heads." Naruto told her. "Also summon Hinata, Sai, Tenten, Kiba, Shikamaru and Temari."

"Will do." Sakura said, before walking away to summon those mentioned.

Naruto meanwhile sighed, painfully aware of the hole left behind by the absence of an old mountain sized fur-ball friend of his with a Bad Attitude, as well as that left behind by his former friend and rival. The only light in his current life was Hinata and to a lesser extent, the handful of Genin he had taken under his wing and his friends.

If it weren't for them, he doubted that he would have remained sane for as long as he did.

Some 15 minutes later

Naruto looked at the 12 Shinobi…and one dog… standing before him

"Alright, I called you all here because we need more information about this new world of ours besides that of the area around us." Naruto looked at Sakura.

"Team Sakura had recently returned from a recon mission to the north and found a large army encamped there." He turned to the Yamanaka shinobi.

"I need you from the Yamanaka clan to head north to use your mind jutsu to gain access to firstly the most common language spoken in this world and secondly to find any information regarding whether or not the army will be a threat to us in the future." Naruto told them.

"Sakura, Sai, Kiba, Akamaru, Tenten, Hinata and I will come with you for protection in case the unforeseen happens. Shikamaru, I'll leave you in charge of things here in my absence. Temari…if he slacks off, feel free to be…what's the word again?...oh right…'troublesome' for him." He finished.

Naruto ignored the 'Nara glare' the Shikamaru was giving him. **(1)** The blonde ex-Suna Kunoichi brightened slightly as she was being ordered to spend time with her boyfriend.

"Uhm…Naruto, why do you then need the 6 of us to gather the information?" one of the Yamanaka asked.

"I want this mission to take as little time as possible and afterwards we need to be able to quickly distribute the language amongst our surviving shinobi. If we find little in the way of information, some of us may need to infiltrate the camp." Naruto said. "If it comes to that, I'll need Ino, Sai, Kiba, Akamaru and Hinata to accompany me."

"And me?" Sakura asked.

"IF it comes to that, I'll need you to escort the remaining Yamanaka back to the Village." Naruto told her. He turned to look out over the Valley, now officially dubbed 'Valley 44: Valley of Death', though that name had started out as a joke…

"My chakra coils haven't yet completely recovered from the strain that seal placed on me and Kurama has yet to awaken." Naruto sighed. "If my coils were healed, I would be able to safely enter my Sage Mode."

"And what of Lee?" Kiba asked.

The others looked at him as though he had a second head. Akamaru just shook his head.

"You really want to take him and his loud mouth with us on this mission?" Naruto asked. "A mission that, I remind you, requires stealth and a quick mind?"

"Point." Kiba admitted.

"His monstrosity of a dress-code will also most likely make anyone attack us just because of…" Naruto stopped there. "…you know what…I am not finishing that sentence." The others sighed in relief.

"Besides, he is training his 'youthfulness' by hauling the masonry and lumber needed for the Village." Hinata added.

As if on cue, they heard a familiar shout of 'flames of youth' from somewhere in the construction area.

"I think he will be fine here…" Temari murmured loud enough for everyone there to hear her.

1 day later

Squad Naruto arrived at a hidden location near the large military camp and decided to set up camp there for the time being.

'Hidden' was the operative word…they had just climbed up a nearby cliff until they found a small cave, large enough for all of them, yet inconspicuous enough not to make people want to check it out.

"How do you intend to do this?" Ino asked.

"To be honest, I haven't thought this far ahead…" Naruto chuckled whilst scratching the back of his head. The others sweat dropped at that but weren't really surprised…Naruto never really thought that far ahead.

"Hinata-chan, can you use your eyes to find any of the cannibal tribes nearby?" Naruto asked.

" _Byakugan_ " Hinata said, activating her Bloodline. "6 miles to the South West there is a small band of tribal warriors coming, masks, spears and shields."

"Why do you need to know that?" Ino asked.

"I think I have a plan…" Naruto said, and began to outline his idea to the others.

"Sometimes I wonder if you are not a member of the Nara clan…" Kiba asked.

"Meh…Shikamaru would have pulled at least 6 plans out of his lazy ass by now and at least another 10 by the time he finished explaining the first." Naruto said, making the others smirk. "And if he were really trying, he'd probably have more than 5 times that number…"

Even back in the elemental nations Shikamaru was known for being as smart as he was lazy, if not more so…something about his IQ being over 200 and his LQ (Laziness Quota) being around the same level…

Let it be known though that he wasn't the only one with high 'Q' values…

Naruto had an UQ (Unpredictability Quota) of at least 300 and had the energy of over 200 standard Chunin. Let's not forget his PQ (Powerhouse Quota) of immeasurable heights…and his rather low IQ of 101…(that sometimes decides to nearly double…if the situation is right…*coughprankscough*)

Sakura had a TQ (Terror…ahem…Temper Quota) of 250, meaning that if one presses her berserk button…well things go FUBAR…big time…extremely fast…with little to no warning.

And then there is Lee…with an YQ (Youthful Quota) and LMQ (Loud Mouth Quota), both of around 450…and a IQ lower than Naruto's normal one.

And just to give a comparison…the average 'Q' is at 100…

But enough of the numerous Q's…

"Let's get some rest before we begin." Naruto suggested. The others agreed.

As he and Hinata were snuggling into each other, Naruto thought he heard one of the Yamanaka females mutter something about girls with big breasts getting all the good guys…

If Hinata heard her, she didn't show it though, but a small smile formed on her face.

Something that seems to happen mostly when she is together with Naruto…

 _'He's mine, bitch. Get your own!'_ she thought smugly to herself. If Ino had used one of her mind probing jutsu on Hinata at that moment she'd see some things Hinata wouldn't want her to see…

Let's just say that Hinata's status as a non-pervert would be shattered…forever.

 **(1): a death stare mixed with the usual bored expression usually seen on a Nara clan member. Pretty funny to see if it isn't directed at you…**

 **Chapter 2, Infiltration**

Naruto's plan was simple at first glance but had a complicated second layer to it.

It was simple in that they use the cannibalistic tribe to make some noise, thus making the army send a patrol to investigate.

That is where the complicated stuff starts…

This Patrol would then need to be captured and brain-walked for information, after which they'd need to be disposed of somehow. Shikamaru proposed leaving most of them to the mercy of the tribesmen. They would tamper with the memory of one of them and send him back to the camp. They'd let this army do the rest whilst they got the hell out of dodge and back to the Village.

And like most of Shikamaru's plans, this is almost exactly what they did…with one exception:

Naruto spontaneously decided that he'd let himself be 'captured' by the tribesmen shortly before the army assaulted the tribesmen camp. Hinata, not wanting to leave him again, used her own version of the **Puppy Eyes Jutsu** , as well as a long luxurious kiss that left Naruto quiet (and pretty much all of the females jealous) to convince him to let her accompany him.

Now, Naruto and Hinata were trapped in wooden cages, waiting for their 'salvation'.

"How long do you think we'll be in here?" Hinata asked. Naruto looked at her, black eyes **(1)** meeting lavender. _'Unsubs hidden nearby.'_ She signed.

"Don't know love." He said. _'Copy. Remember, no chakra.'_ He signed back.

To everyone except those with sharp eyes, the slight movements of their hands would have seemed insignificant.

Suddenly a small group of soldiers appeared next to their cages and began cutting the roped that held the cages tied together.

"Who are you?" Hinata asked. One of the males made the shushing sign.

"We are from the revolutionary army." The man said. Meanwhile a female was freeing Naruto.

"Follow us. We'll lead you back to our camp." She said silently and huskily.

"Oi!" Hinata hissed, catching the attention of the revolutionist. "That is my Boyfriend you are flirting with!"

The female looked from Hinata to Naruto and back, then grumbled about the hot ones always being taken…Hinata blushed when she heard the female referring to Naruto as 'Stud'…

Because in her mind he really was one…

Shortly after they made it to the tree line they heard dozens of small explosions going off, but neither Naruto nor Hinata heard or saw any fireballs that usually accompany an explosion.

"What are those noises?" Naruto asked one of the revolutionists.

"You mean you don't know what a gun is?" the man asked, incredulous.

"The two of us are from a…disconnected Village." Hinata explained. "We left the village to find out more about the world because of our isolation."

The revolutionists looked at each other.

"So…you don't know about the empire?" one of them asked.

"Not…really…our village is pretty far to the south of here." Naruto paused as if to gather his thoughts, but secretly communicating with Sakura, who was hiding out of sight of the revolutionists. "Our Village had been surrounded by cannibalistic Tribes since its founding, but thanks to the location of our Village, we could easily defend ourselves against them."

"Oh really? And do tell how you managed this?" a new revolutionist asked. This one was scarred from battle and carried himself like a seasoned veteran.

"Back before we left, our village was only accessible by walking through a narrow ravine." Hinata explained. "Before the Fall, that is…" she muttered.

 _'_ _Nice acting, Hinata-chan.'_ Naruto signed. She barely nodded in acknowledgment.

"The Fall?" the newcomer asked.

"The earth shook and the cliffs that formed the ravine as well as the wall that defended our village came crashing down. We didn't have enough warriors to defend all around our village." Hinata said, before breaking down crying.

"We both lost people precious to our hearts that day." Naruto said, hugging Hinata. _'Damn, Hinata…since when are you this good at acting?'_ he whispered.

"Oh…I am sorry to hear that." The newcomer (Let's call him Scars for now) said. "Anyway, are the two of you the only survivors?"

Naruto shook his head. "There are roughly 250 of us left, all of us being younger than 20." He let go of Hinata, who had 'calmed down'. "I don't think that we have introduced ourselves yet. My name is Naruto Uzumaki, leader of the survivors of our Village." He said, holding out his hand. "And this here is my girlfriend, Hinata Hyuuga. You have my thanks for saving us earlier tonight."

Scars smirked, shaking Naruto's hand and introducing himself.

"Wait…you are the leader? Then why the hell are you all the way out here?" he asked.

"I am new to the role of leadership, but one of my late Grandfather's words to me were: 'A good leader leads by example and never gives an order he/she is unwilling to complete himself/herself'." Naruto quickly explained. It wasn't really a lie, but not really the truth either.

"A wise man. Would have liked to have met him." Scars said. "Now, mind explaining to me why you are really here with a blind girl…" only to have Hinata walk up to him and glaring at him.

"I HATE it when people think that because my eyes are pale like this, that I am blind." She growled.

"Easy there, Hinata-chan." Naruto said, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"I meant no disrespect, Miss." Scars said.

At that moment the rest of the Revolutionist force arrived and the two shinobi left together with the force. Before leaving though, Naruto signaled Sakura one last message…

 _'_ _Complete the bridge, then have someone fetch us.'_

He thought he saw her sign _'Good Luck'_ before she disappeared.

Two days later, Shinobi Village

The group minus Naruto and Hinata returned to the village under construction and immediately began dishing out order to have the bridge completed. The design was simple and based of the one that she had seen Tazuna construct during their mission to Wave Country…only this one was being constructed far faster than that one had been thanks to the fact that it was shinobi building them. And of course, they had a green loud-mouthed beast hauling all the masonry from the quarry by the ton.

Shikamaru had taken temporary control of the village as Naruto had technically not relieved him of his duty yet…which he found troublesome.

Due to the amount of chakra being used, even the academy-level kids were slowly but surely becoming chakra powerhouses compared to the peace time standards back in their old world…and each and every one of them was by now able to do the tree climbing exercise with ease…something that Naruto and Sakura were envious about as they only learnt that skill on their first C-rank mission…

Another thing that came as a surprise was that the language in this world was very similar to their own as far as the spoken language was concerned…however unlike them there was only one written alphabet, whereas they had a few of them.

To the North of the Revolutionary Army Base

"How much further?" Tatsumi asked. His groin was aching from the constant horse-riding, a feeling shared by his green-haired comrade, Lubbock.

"We should arrive there by evening, unless anything happens." Najenda called over to him.

"You just came from a journey from your own village…how are you not used to this?" Mine screeched at him. "And Lubb…this is just pathetic."

"Shut Up, Pinky. I WALKED the damn distance from my village to the Capital." Tatsumi growled at the pink haired sniper.

"Will the two of you knock it off?" Najenda shouted, making the two of them go stiff at the tone of her voice. "Thank you."

For most of the journey from then onwards there was silence between the two.

With Naruto and Hinata

Naruto and Hinata looked around in wonder as they walked through the Revolutionist Base.

"This place is huge…" Naruto said in wonder. Behind him Scars chuckled at his words. He was now convinced that these two had really been living quite Isolated up until now…as was every other soldier under his command.

"I know right. But this base is only the size of a small city." Naruto and Hinata turned on him instantly, before fainting.

"Imagination overload?" Scars' second in command asked, making the entire troop laugh before they got hold of a pair of stretchers and carried Naruto and Hinata to the command tent where they would get debriefed by their superiors. Nobody noticed the small smirks on the pair of 'unconscious' youth's faces.

15 minutes later

Naruto 'awoke' with a groan, before looking around. He jumped to his feat when he found himself in an unknown tent. Moments later though he relaxed when he saw Hinata sleeping a few feet away from him.

"Ah…you are awake earlier than expected." A voice caught his attention. He turned to look at an elderly man with a long beard that held a fair amount of grey in it.

"Who are you? Where are we?" Naruto asked.

"My apologies, but my name is classified information as I am one of the highest-ranking individuals in the Revolutionary Army. I hope you will understand." He said sadly. Naruto nodded slowly as though accepting that. "As for where you are, right now you are in my command tent. A temporary solution until we are able to find proper housing for a leader of a village and his girlfriend."

"Not much of a village at the moment…" Naruto mumbled.

"What do you mean, not much of a village?" the old man asked.

"The correct term would be 'leader of our village's refugees'." Naruto said. "We have moved to one of our abandoned Outposts in the meantime and are probably going to settle down there, now that something had started wiping out the local Tribe in the area."

"Do you know what happened to them?" the old man asked.

Naruto shook his head. "All that we have at the moment ourselves are speculations. I am unwilling to talk about it at this moment due to this uncertainty. I hope you understand."

The old man nodded but felt as though Naruto knew more than he let on.

A groan from the side made both of them turn their head to see Hinata waking up.

"Hinata." Naruto said, walking over to her.

"Morning, Naruto-kun." She answered. The old man chuckled. He could tell that these two loved each other dearly.

That evening, Revolutionist command tent

"Ah, Najenda. Good to see you." The old man greeted the leader of Night Raid.

"General. It has been a while." Najenda returned the greeting. "Anything new about what happened in the south?"

"All in good time, but yes. We may have something literally walk into out camp just earlier today." The old man said. "But that can wait for tomorrow. I am sure that you and the other Assassins are tired from your journey."

A pair of agreeing moans were all the answers he needed.

3 days later

"Sir, there is a pink haired female outside claiming she is from the refugee group that some guy weirdo called Naruto leads." A man called out as he entered the command tent, where Naruto, Hinata and the members from Night Raid were sitting in conversation. "Uhm…where is the general?"

"Right there." Naruto said, pointing at Najenda.

"General Najenda…Sorry, I didn't see you." The man said. Najenda got a tick mark on her head, which Naru noticed.

"Did she give a name?" Najenda asked.

"Sakuga…no, Saguro…Sako-something Haru…something…forgive me, I am not good with names." The man apologized.

"Sakura Haruno." Naruto and Hinata said at the same time.

"Yes, that is it…wait…how do you know?" the man asked incredulously.

"She is a friend of ours. And I am the Naruto of which she speaks." Naruto said, getting up. "Well, General, it seems like my escort back home has arrived." He held out a hand. "It was nice meeting you. With Luck, we may see each other again."

"Same to you, Naruto. We will in the meantime wait for that old guy to return from this emergency he went to." Najenda said. "He said that he had something for us to help with our mission down south."

Naruto and Hinata exchanged a look.

"This…mission…wouldn't have anything to do with the disappearances of the tribes, would it?" he asked, surprising the Night Raid members. "Our home just so happens to be in the area where it happened."

"Really?" Najenda asked with closed eyes.

"We arrived in the area shortly after whatever it was happened…judging by how fresh the signs were." Hinata said.

"Now, now, guys, let's not keep this Sakura fellow waiting." Bulat said, getting up and fetching his gear.

"She'll kick your ass for calling her that." Naruto said with a smirk. Even Hinata giggled a bit.

Shortly afterwards, Revolutionary base gate

"Hey Naruto. Been a while." Sakura said, hugging her former Teammate as well as Hinata.

"Meh, only a few weeks. How things back at the Outpost…or should I call it the new Village?" Naruto asked.

"Well, we just finished renovations on the bridge as you asked. The houses themselves…well, you know." Sakura said. "Now, who are these guys?"

"Ah, Sakura, Kiba, Akamaru, Sai, Ino, meet the members of Night Raid. They are some sort of Special Forces Unit from what I gathered." Naruto told her and the others who came to act as his 'escort'. "Apparently they are like the ANBU from the Village back in the day, though I am not entirely sure on what their main role is…something between warriors and infiltrators…"

"Is it just me or is that another Sakura there?" Kiba asked, pointing at Mine. "She seems to be a lot quieter."

"Nah…Sakura is bigger." Ino said.

"And taller." Sai said.

"What are you talking about?" Mine asked.

Kiba and Akamaru winced. "I take that back…she may just be worse than Sakura in the Academy."

"In other words, I don't hold the title of Banshee any longer?" Sakura asked, mock pouting.

Leone, Tatsumi and Lubb by now were trying to hold in their laughter…and failing at it.

Mine was wondering what they were talking about.

Two days later

"Now that is an amazing bridge." Bulat said, looking over the recently finished bridge.

"Thanks. We finished repairing it just a few days ago." Sakura said. "We have started on the housing for the others, but I am afraid that It may take a few weeks, if not months, until we have enough for everyone."

"That is ok. Most of us can stay in the cave until then." Naruto looked around. "Where's Lee?"

His answer was a loud shout of "YOUTH!" as a green blur approached the group at high speed.

"NARUTO-KUN! HINATA-SAN! YOU ARE FINALLY BACK!" a male in a green spandex one-piece suit with orange leg warmers gave Naruto an audibly bone crushing hug.

Needless to say, the males were all sickened at the sight…whilst the females wanted to throw up. The only ones immune to this were Bulat, who applauded the sight, Akame, who had seen worse, and Naruto, who was turning blue due to lack of air.

"Lee…give him some Air!" Hinata screamed.

Lee, realizing that she was right, immediately let go of Naruto, who drew in a breath so powerful that Akame, Mine and Hinata felt the draft flowing through their hair.

"Troublesome. You have finally returned?" a tall male with black hair tied back in a messy pony-tail said.

"Yeah, sorry about that, Shikamaru. Anyway, how are things progressing here?" Naruto asked, shaking hands with his friend and advisor.

"We are a bit short on supplies, mainly metals with which to make tools and such. We have found a possible Ore vein nearby, but it appears to be down in the valley. Also, we are running short on lumber." He said.

"Lee, why don't you go get an axe and solve that last issue?" Naruto turned to Lee.

"YOOSH! IF I AM UNABLE TO DO THAT, I'LL RUN 20 TIMES AROUND THE VALLEY…" Lee bellowed.

"Lee, shut up and get to it…the sooner we finish the houses, the sooner we can start on the training fields." Naruto said. Lee was gone before he finished.

"Finally some peace and quiet." Shikamaru grumbled.

"Is this guy really that bad?" Najenda asked.

"In terms of pure physical strength and hand to hand combat, he is the strongest of us. But he is seriously lacking in any common sense and intelligence. Don't get me wrong, when he fights he can hold his own against most opponents, but outside of fighting he is…well you can guess that, can't you?" Naruto explained.

Night raid could only nod in agreement.

"Hinata, can you show them around whilst Shikamaru fills me in on everything that had happened whilst I was gone?" Naruto asked. _'Can't risk using any ninjutsu with them around.'_ He signaled behind his back, letting Shikamaru see it. Hidden in the shadows several other shinobi Genin saw the signs as well and retreated to spread the word: No ninjutsu for the foreseeable future.

Whilst Hinata was busy showing Night Raid around, Naruto went with Shikamaru to the small cave that served as the temporary Office.

"So, tell me, what has happened in my absence?" Naruto asked.

"Nothing much, to be honest." Shikamaru reported. "Since we cleared out the Tribes in the area, we had sightings of other tribes along our borders. We haven't done any investigation as the main effort is to get this place up and running, but I believe that we should be at combat readiness at all times." Shikamaru said. Naruto nodded, thinking about it.

"Think we could construct some heavy doors to close the main tunnel?" Naruto suggested.

"Possibly, though you could also crate a barrier with those Seals you learnt." Shikamaru said. "Troublesome. On second thought that won't work. An invisible barrier will attract too much attention." Shikamaru added.

"We'll come up with something soon. For now, is there anything else you want to tell me?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah. I still don't know what you learnt during your stay in this 'Camp'." Shikamaru said.

"Later, when Hinata is back and Night Raid is settled in or out on their investigation mission, I'll explain everything." Naruto whispered, before pointing to the entrance, where Hinata had just arrived with said group.

"…and this is where Naruto keeps his office for the time being." She said. "Any questions?"

Tatsumi spoke up.

"Earlier, Mr. Shikamaru was it, said that you lack metal for tools, but you have found an ore vein. I get the feeling that the location you speak of is inaccessible?" he asked.

"Because the Valley surrounding this mountain is filled with powerful danger beasts that also act as a deterrent to any future Tribes that may want to attack us." Hinata said. "That being said, the bridge is our only way in or out, which leaves us vulnerable to a siege, but I don't think that there are many tribes who can pull one of."

"True, most Tribes are not patient enough for something like that." Najenda said.

"Anyway, now that Naruto is back, we may be able to hold the Danger beasts off long enough to get a sample of the rock to determine whether or not it is worth it to mine there." Hinata continued.

"Is he strong?" Bulat asked. The others leaning in interested.

"If he weren't recovering from an injury at the moment, he could probably take on everyone here minus myself, Shikamaru, Lee, and Temari and come out the victor. However, as he is currently, he can still hold his own in a straight up fight." Hinata told them.

"He didn't seem injured." Mine said.

"His injuries…aren't the external type…" Hinata said sadly. "When our old Village fell…he lost more than most of us…a lot more."

"And do tell what was it that he lost?" Mine asked. A presence appeared behind and she didn't notice it. "He couldn't have lost that much important stuff…"

"It would be easier to tell you what I have left following the attack." Naruto growled, picking her up by the collar of her dress, lifting her into the air. "I lost most of my friends, including my best friend, all of my Family, my home. All I have left are those that survived with me, my remaining friends and Hinata, and the clothes I wear on my body. Everything else is gone, lost forever."

The amount of KI he was releasing was seriously scaring the shit out of Mine. Hinata wasn't kidding when she said that he could when healed take on an army. He'd scare most of the soldiers away just by flaring his KI…

 **(1): Different coloration will be revealed in a later chapter.**

 **Chapter 3, New Journey begins**

Next Day

"Alright. The closest abandoned Tribal Village we know of lies about 4 leagues east of here." Naruto said, indicating a location on a rough map they had drawn on a leather hide taken from a danger beast during the first week. "We found 6 other Villages scattered around the area as well." Naruto marked off a few more locations scattered across the map. "We found piles of bones in one Village here." Naruto pointed to a Village to the south of their location.

"Anything about the Danger beasts in the area?" Akame asked.

Naruto chuckled hearing her stomach growling. "Most seem edible if that is what you are asking. But since we arrived, the number of Danger Beasts seem to have increased slightly. Most don't pose a serious threat to us, but I fear that one day we will have a harder fight on our hands."

"Thanks for the help." Najenda said.

"I just hope that whatever took out all those tribes doesn't come back and turns on us." Naruto told her. "Good luck. Till we meet again."

The members of Night Raid nodded and left, running across the bridge.

Naruto meanwhile turned back and walked into the Village. "Alright, let's get back to work and finish this Village." Night Raid heard him shout.

"Shouldn't we send someone to shadow them?" Shikamaru asked quietly.

"Shino already placed a tracking Bug on the brunette male and the blond." Naruto whispered back. Shikamaru nodded.

"Hey, Lee. That is enough wood for now." Naruto shouted, seeing Lee throw another log onto a huge pile of logs. "Can you go and help out at the quarry?" Naruto asked.

"WILL DO!" Lee shouted and sped off.

"Remind me to put a Volume reduction seal on him someday…" Naruto told Shikamaru.

"Troublesome." He just said. "How are you feeling?"

"My chakra network seems almost back to normal, but I still am getting no answer from Kurama." Naruto told him. "Give it about 3 more days and I'll be able to fully utilize my chakra again."

"About time. Soon we can have a look at that Ore vein." Shikamaru said. "Unless something else happens during those 3 days."

They continued their discussion until Sakura entered and began a checkup on Naruto.

Timeskip, next day, Night Raid

"Well, it seems as though whoever killed of the tribes did a very good job at hiding the evidence." Najenda said.

"True. But I can't shake the feeling that this Naruto fellow knows more than he let on." Bulat said.

"I have the same feeling. But you've seen the people he leads…there weren't any weapons on them…neither on him. I highly doubt that any of them could have done this.

"Could it be that the Tribesmen left the area?" Tatsumi asked.

"Unlikely. See, this?" Lubb said, pointing to a burnt log sticking out of the ground. "This place was set aflame…no this village was razed."

"Anything?" Najenda called out to the second team, consisting of Akame, Sheele and Mine.

Leone was out in the forest surrounding the destroyed village, trying to catch a scent.

"Nothing. All we found was a bunch of broken weapons. It looked as though they've been cut through by a sword or something." Mine answered.

"Boss…didn't that Naruto guy carry a sword?" Tatsumi asked.

"Yes he did, however he did say that he was still recovering…" Bulat said, slowing down towards the end.

"One man alone couldn't have done this." Najenda said. "Besides, he said that his injury stems from the assault on his former Village."

Bulat grudgingly admitted her point.

"I still think that he knows more than he lets on." He said. Najenda nodded. She wouldn't admit it out loud, but she silently agreed with Bulat.

"Boss, whoever did all this covered their tracks well. There are no scents in the area, though that may be due to the weather here as much as them covering their tracks." Leone reported.

"I get the feeling that we are missing something." Tatsumi muttered. The others nodded in agreement.

They decided to check all of the other tribal ruins…there had to be a clue somewhere as to who did this…

Back in the Village, 2 days later

Naruto stood facing the forest, listening for any possible danger beast that could attack them.

"I don't sense anything Tenten. Get your sample will ya?" Naruto called up. His bun haired friend jumped down next to him, accompanied by a small group of Doton users, who used their Doton justu to remove a large segment of ore from the rock. Lee then, under pretext that it was a training exercise, carried the large chunk of ore all the way to the village, where Tenten and her group had managed to MacGyver a small working furnace and forge.

"I'll be able to tell you in a few days if this is any good." She said, getting to work.

"And we don't have anything worth trading for Ingots with the revolutionary army." Naruto murmured.

Few days later

"ARE YOU CRAZY?" echoed across the Village, causing all activity to stop and look towards Office Cave, as Konohamaru jokingly dubbed it.

"We may not have much of a choice." Shikamaru told Naruto. "According to Tenten, the metal vein produces metal so strong that it will take a long while to forge it into anything usable…she says that without the proper equipment, it'll take a week until she even finishes a hatchet. The furnace isn't hot enough, and none of our Katon users are able to produce flames hot enough to bring the metal up to proper forging temperature."

He sighed as Naruto digested the information. "Troublesome. I am sorry Naruto, but some of us will need to go into the mercenary business again, and out of all of us, you are the best candidate."

"But what about everyone here? I could be gone for years." Naruto said.

"Don't worry about that. I doubt that we'll need a kage in this village for quite some time. This is only until we become fully self-sustaining, so you may not be gone that long. At most I think you'll be gone for a few months." Shikamaru told him.

"If he's going, then I am going as well." Sakura said, walking in. she was followed by the other members of the former Rookie 9. "And I get the feeling that the others share the sentiment."

"I didn't even agree to this yet." Naruto said. "And even if we did, can we really afford to send the best of our group? I mean, we havn't fully explored the area fully yet, have we?"

"True, but someone has to keep you out of trouble." Sakura said.

"And I nearly lost you several times during the War, and even before that." Hinata said, giving Naruto a Hyuuga glare when he opened his mouth to complain, shutting him up.

"We can't have you getting all of the fun, now can we?" Kiba asked.

"Perhaps we should consider both sides?" Shino said.

"What the hell, Shino. Whose side are you on?" Kiba shouted. Everyone turned to Shino.

"Both sides are right in this conflict. We cannot hope to make it here without outside help, so we have to let ourselves be hired in order to get supplies. On the other hand, we cannot send every one of us as the others look up to us for guidance." Shino said.

"Troublesome…at most we can only spare 3 of us…that means it is Naruto and 2 others who are going to go." Shikamaru said, sighing.

"What do you guys suggest?" Naruto sighed, giving in.

"How about a assault-medic-tracking team?" Sakura proposed. "That means me and Naruto and either Shino, Kiba or Hinata. Naruto can hold his own against most enemies again and easily overwhelm pretty much anything. I will be there to heal his injuries if gets in over his head and the tracker to find the target." Sakura said.

"That sounds like a good Idea, but whom from Team 8 should we choose?" Temari asked.

Everyone looked amongst themselves, then at the three mentioned shinobi. But before anyone could make any suggestion, Moegi ran through the mouth of the cave.

"Guys…those Night Raid people…they have returned." She panted.

"We'll finish this later." Naruto said. Everyone nodded and followed Naruto to the bridge, except for Shikamaru, who turned to Temari for some quality time.

It didn't take long for the group to meet up with Night Raid.

"You guys are back. Found anything?" Naruto asked.

"Only things that confirm what you told us." Najenda said.

"Sorry for not being of much help." Naruto said, bowing. "What are you planning to do now?"

"We're planning to stay the night here, then return home tomorrow." Najenda said, pulling on her cigarette.

"About that…there is something we'd like to discuss with you…" Naruto said, indicating for Najenda to follow him. The others of his group he sent to help out wherever they could.

A short time later, the two of them were seated on logs around one of the communal fires.

"What is it that you'd like to talk about?" Najenda asked.

"Well, just before you returned, we decided to offer our services to the revolutionary army…at least a few of us will, myself included." Naruto told her. "It is all we have to offer in return for equipment and supplies." Naruto added.

Najenda nodded, understanding where Naruto was coming from.

"Would it not look bad for the village if their leader is not there?" she asked.

"And it is also the duty for the leader to take care for his people." Naruto said. "As much as it pains me to say it, Shikamaru is right. I need to do this. And besides, we intend to remain hidden from both the Revolutionary Army and the Imperials, and I won't be needed here for a while."

"Just how many people are going to join you on this endeavor?" Najenda asked, leaning forward.

"Myself, our chief medic, Sakura and one other, whom we have yet to choose." Naruto said. "There will be a few who will regularly come and bring me updates on the situation here as well as getting orders from me, unless you have a pigeon service going on."

"I'll see what can be done, though I suggest that you join Night Raid rather than the Revolutionary Army." Najenda asked, not aware of the hidden shinobi. Naruto however was. "That is for the reason that the higher ups of the army will want to know where this village is and such."

"Well, the supplies can be picked up by some of the warriors who will be remaining here." Naruto said.

The two spent about an hour discussing terms and locations, before Najenda got up and left the Cave.

Naruto remained behind in thought, before looking up and saying out loud, "Hinata, you can come out now." Naruto said.

"Are you sure about this?" she asked, embracing him from behind. "Assassination has always been at the bottom of your list."

"And it always will be." Naruto turned his head, looking into her pale lavender eyes.

"Well, at least your contact lenses are still there." Hinata said. "But I prefer the real eyes, not some mask." She gently removed Naruto's contact lenses, revealing his black Irises. "Even if they are not the original eyes."

"Let me come with you. You know that Kiba and Akamaru stand out too much and Shino will scare the crap out of everyone with his bugs." She pleaded.

"And you are someone so beautiful that some corrupt noble would hand over a ton of cash to get in his bed." Naruto said.

"Not going to happen." Hinata said. "You are the only one for me."

"And you're the only one for me." Naruto said, pecking her on the lips. "Alright…but only if you manage to convince Kiba, Akamaru and Shino about letting you go."

"Oh, don't worry. They know that I want to go, and they are alright with it." Hinata said.

Suddenly she activated her **Byakugan** , then motioned for Naruto to return the contact lenses to her eyes.

Seconds after he did so, Najenda entered the Cave with Akame and Sakura.

"I have spoken with the others and they are willing to accept your help." Najenda said. "So, welcome to Night Raid, Naruto, Sakura. We can leave when you choose the third person."

"Actually, Hinata just managed to convince me to let her come with." Naruto said, leaning into Hinata who was still standing behind him. She smiled and began playing with his hair.

 **"…** **t…"** Naruto's eyes snapped open hearing a noise in his mind. **"…at…"**

"Uhm…excuse me for a while please." He suddenly said, kneeling on the ground and becoming still. Sakura and Hinata's eyes widened as they could guess what was happening.

Najenda and Akame were confused until 10 seconds later Naruto opened his eyes.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, before telling them not to mind him, saying that it was a habit he picked up from his late godfather…in reality it was something different.

 _Flashback_

 _Naruto entered his mindscape to find it no longer the sewer he remembered it to be. It was now a large open grassland with a forest to one side and a lake to the other. It was very serene._

 _And standing before him stood none other than Kurama in all of his glory._

 _"_ _Kurama…you are alright!" Naruto shouted in joy._

 _ **"**_ _ **Never thought I'd say this, but damn I am glad to see you, brat."**_ _Kurama said._

 _"_ _Where have you been all this time?" Naruto asked._

 _ **"**_ _ **Asleep. You drained me of all my chakra using that portal thing."**_ _Kurama told him._

 _"_ _I understand. I'll let you look through my memories so you can catch up to current events." Naruto told him. Kurama nodded before lying down and began sifting through Naruto's memories._

 _Naruto smiled, happy to have his friend back and disappeared from his mindscape._

 _Flashback end_

The next day, Village bridge.

"Take care of yourselves, Naruto! Sakura! Hinata!" Everyone was shouting their farewells to Naruto, Sakura and Hinata.

"Likewise. Make our ancestors proud, and build a village they'd be proud of." Naruto shouted back. He had his camping gear on his back, as had Hinata and Sakura. Also on his back was Sasuke's sword, which he had begun learning how to use ever since he received it, and since he was fully healed and had a certain pink (ex-)banshee at his disposal, he could train himself to the ground again. However whom he chose to teach him Kenjutsu was a little…extreme…

Tenten was an outright drillmaster from the lowest circle of Hell if she wants to be…

Probably did not help when Naruto asked her if she was going to start spewing all that "FLAMES OF YOUTH" BS that Lee and Guy were well known for…

Timeskip

Naruto, Sakura and Hinata were looking a bit pale at the horses they'd been issued. **(1)**

"Are we supposed to…travel on those?" Naruto asked.

"Yes. They are the fastest means of transportation available to us at the moment." Najenda said.

Naruto looked at her.

"No offence, but these things look more like Ball Busters…mind If I run alongside?" Naruto asked. The Night Raiders looked at him as though he was crazy.

"As deep in the mountains as our former village as in, we didn't ride horses." Sakura explained.

"We used them in the fields to pull carts carrying food and equipment." Hinata added.

"I guess that makes sense, but trust me, riding a horse is not all that bad. Just ask Bulat." Najenda said, pointing at the huge man.

"She's right. Riding is pretty fun actually." He agreed.

"Ok then, let me get a second and third opinion." Naruto said. Before Najenda could react, he turned to Tatsumi and Lubbock. "What is riding really like?"

"Hell." The two of them answered.

"But like Boss said, it is the fastest way to travel." Tatsumi added.

Naruto did not sound convinced…and 20 minutes later wished he had chosen to run instead when he felt his groin getting bruised by the unfamiliar feeling of having a horse jumping over obstacles…

He later learned that Hinata and Sakura were using their chakra to basically glue themselves to the saddle…and subsequently played pranks on both of them for not telling him about that idea.

Sakura would forever remember waking up with green hair and covered in Mayonnaise…

Hinata on the other hand thought that her voice box would stop working after all the tickling Naruto sent her through after somehow attaching a tickling seal to her stomach, armpits and the soles of her feet.

 **(1) I don't recall Naruto ever riding a horse in the manga or anime…**

 **…**

 **AND DONE!**

 **It has been a while since I last did triple Chapter Uploads…and I have seriously gotten rusty.**

 **Now, I know that there are going to be questions about Naruto's eye-color, but please don't nag me about that. There is a reason for it that will be revealed at a later stage.**

 **#Edited due to wrong spelling of a name 8 times**


	2. Chapter 4 - 6

**Hey all.**

 **So in case you are wondering how long it took me to write the first bunch of chapters…I started in July, and deleted the entire work before reaching chapter 3 numerous times due to me recognizing a lot of certain aspects of the story that would end up making things really difficult later on.**

 **The first version had Naruto and the others from the Konoha 11 dropped smack-bang in the middle of the Imperial Capital during the Revolution…for obvious reasons that one was scrapped.**

 **The second version began the idea of them arriving in a secluded area, though still near the Capital, but I scrapped that one when I realize that geographically they wouldn't be able to remain hidden. I kept the Idea about the group being refugees, though in this story there were several thousand refugees, including Civilians and grown-ups, both Shinobi and Civilians.**

 **The third Idea introduced the Idea that they arrived in a secluded area outside of the Capital. I scrapped most of this story, but the idea of them arriving in a secluded area outside of the empire became one of the bases on which I built the final version.**

 **Most of the Prolog actually is still from the fourth version, with some minor tweaks to it to make it compatible to the rest of the storyline. In this version the war spanned the entire chapter 1 in the form of a flashback, depicting the deaths of people such as Gaara and A, as well as the capture of Bee, all three of whom won't have any role in the story…so unfortunately I scrapped this approach…except for the Prolog, as mentioned.**

 **The fifth attempt gave me a template from which I began writing the final version, but I completely messed up the pacing in that version…I reached the Jaeger Arc by the end of Chapter 2…so I yeah…I scrapped that Idea.**

 **The sixth version is the last one I scrapped, but also the one that set the pacing for the story in my eyes. In that story, Chapter 1 is mostly part of this version, but the last ¼ of it is part of the final version. For the Infiltration, I had three groups infiltrate the Revolutioinary Army via signing up at the recruitment centre. Naruto and Hinata were the first group. Sakura, Ino and Sai composed the second group and Tenten was joined by Lee and Kiba and Akamaru for the third group. I hit a snag when I introduced Night Raid as I was unsure on how to continue the story, and I had hit a writer's block that lasted for almost 2 weeks. Also…writing about the doings and such of 8 shinobi and one ninken…I have trouble writing that with 5 at most…**

 **The story is currently in the 7** **th** **version, and from what a fan of mine tells me, it is pretty good.**

 **Now, Responces to Reviews:**

 **Anko4Life:** Thanks, and I hope that reworking this story 6 times was worth it.

 **Guest 1:** When did I say he had Occular Powers?

 **Guest 2:** Not happening.

 **Guest 2 (second review):** Ok.

 **On to the story…**

 **Chapter 4, Initiation**

4 days later

Naruto sighed in relief when he got out of the accursed saddle, vowing to forgo riding in one from now on and rather travelling by foot.

Hinata giggled at her boyfriend, though after he pulled that prank on her…well, she wished to go back in time and give him a certain bit of advice.

But she felt true love for him, so she forgave him after trying to suffocate him by kissing him deeply…until she remembered that he still had a nose through which he could breath.

Now though they abandoned the horses at a small stable a few dozen miles from the Capital city and made their way onward by foot. The reason became clear when a mile into the forest, they came across a deep ravine that could only be crossed by a rope bridge. Naruto wondered how on earth this was safe as anyone could just sit and look at the bridge all day and take notes on who crosses it and when. Sakura and Hinata were contemplating the same thing in far greater detail.

They arrived at the supposed hideout in the evening…and Naruto, Hinata and Sakura had perfect deadpan expressions on how it looked.

"This…thing is supposed to be a secret hideout?" Naruto asked, voice matching his expression.

"It has served us well enough for about a year now, so yes, it is." Najenda said.

"And what is with all these low level traps?" Naruto said, sitting on his haunches to look at a seemingly inconspicuous patch of foliage. "I've been building traps better than this when I was 8."

"No-one has your experience and talent for trap-making, Naruto." Sakura sighed. "But I agree…these are some low level traps."

Of course, the person who set the traps felt offended by this.

"Oy…I'll have you know that I have much pride in my traps and nobody has ever gotten past them unscathed." Lubbock shouted.

The three newcomers looked at each other, then at him.

"Challenge accepted." They all said in unison…before crossing all of the traps by climbing through the trees. Lubb looked as though he had just been shot with lightning.

And to make things worse for him, Naruto returned through the trees…and then began walking through the traps without triggering them…expertly avoiding even the handful of double layered traps Lubb had set up.

"Too easy." They heard Naruto shout out as he arrived at the other side.

"Just who the hell did we just hire there?" Bulat asked in disbelief.

Najenda just stared at the trio who had just defeated a trapped field that even she didn't get through unscathed…

"No idea…but if what they said was true about Naruto being a powerful warrior…if his skill at avoiding traps is this good, then he truly must be a powerful opponent…if he is at full power…" Najenda said.

They just didn't know whom they really had recruited there.

A few minutes later

When the members of Night Raid finally arrived at where Naruto, Sakura and Hinata were sitting and waiting for them, with Naruto and Hinata cuddling and snoozing against a tree and Sakura sitting on one of its branches, deep in thought.

"Ne, Naruto…" the pinkette asked. "What do you think about that old fort there?"

"Hm? Oh that…I think it is a base that was used during the last great invasion this country experienced." Naruto said, barely opening his eyes to look in the direction. "I sincerely doubt that that is where Najenda-san is taking us…"

"Actually, that is exactly where we are going." Najenda said. The three shinobi looked at her oddly.

"You…are lucky there aren't any Hunters in the Imperial forces." Naruto said. "If there were, you'd have been found out ages ago."

Najenda opened her mouth to protest, before realizing that he may have a point.

Lubb, having his pride broken earlier, spoke up.

"Alrighty then, mate…I challenge you to a contest on who can make better traps." Lubb said, pointing a finger at Naruto.

Sakura and Hinata looked at him as though he was crazy…Naruto could out-trap an entire Unit of ANBU if he wanted to…

Now that Sakura thought about it…she once read a report by an ANBU Unit where exactly that happened…nobody knew how Naruto managed it, but it took a full ten minutes for the Unit to make it out of the danger zone. And by then Naruto was who knows where…

Naruto just grinned, mind already working on a number of traps he would use on this guy…

Lubb would never know what hit him.

"Alright. How about this…we spend the entire night setting our traps and tomorrow someone else is going to test out the traps to check their effectiveness." Naruto said. Lubb agreed and the two of them shook hands.

Hinata and Sakura just shook their heads before following Najenda through the forest to the base.

Timeskip

As said, Lubb and Naruto spent the night trapping entirely different sections of the forest surrounding the base. When Morning came, they found Naruto sleeping at the foot of a tree whilst Lubb was adding the finishing touches to his section.

Bulat, who had volunteered to be the sacrificial lamb, activated his Teigu Incursio, making the three shinobi go wide eyed, having never seen something like it before.

Bulat then began making his way through Lubbock's section, triggering quite a number of them but none of them doing any damage due to his armour.

He then went towards Naruto's section, where Hinata and Sakura stood a bit back behind the others…who unknowingly were already inside the danger-zone.

Bulat took one step when suddenly a noose wrapped itself around his foot, lifting him off the floor and into the air.

Once he cut himself free, he fell to the floor, landing on all four limbs. He then felt a thin wire underneath his left hand, before a swinging tree stump crashed into his side, sending him flying. He landed in a pile…right on a net trap that left him hanging in the air.

"Want to continue?" Naruto asked, approaching the stunned man.

"If this is the worst you have, then yes." Bulat said.

"Oh trust me, this is still a low level trap here." Naruto said. "Though I must say…I may have gone overboard on where I placed the traps." Naruto said, walking off. "For the past minute, Leone had been standing on another trap without realizing it."

"Huh?" the members of Night Raid looked at him, then at Leone, then at her feet, where they all noticed a thin wire being held down under her weight.

Leone took her foot of the wire gently, before something shot out of the floor. Akame had the briefest of moments to see a small ball with a burning fuse attached, before it blew up in a blinding flash of light and a loud bang that let everyone stunned. Naruto felt some sympathy for them, but continued walking towards where Hinata and Sakura were standing.

"That was a bit harsh, don't you think?" Hinata asked.

"They were the ones who didn't realize they had walked into he field they had assigned to me. Though I am impressed at that Bulat's armour…that tree-trunk weighed a ton and took me a while to lift into place." Naruto answered.

"While I do pity them all, I don't feel pity for that Lubbock…challenging you to a trap contest? That is almost as stupid as challenging you on who can out-prank the other." Sakura said.

"Naruto would win that one in the first round." Hinata said, leaning her head on Naruto's shoulder.

It took several minutes for the ringing int heir ears to subside, but Najenda and the others eventually recovered from the Flashbang.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" Mine screeched.

"Was I like that in the Academy?" Sakura asked, rubbing her ears. Naruto and Hinata nodded.

"And up until Sasuke left the Village, yes." Naruto said. "Kami…I should have given up on you back then already…would have saved my quite a bit of pain in the ears…"

"I have to agree with you there, Naruto." Hinata said, smiling slightly. "Cause then you may have opened your eyes a bit sooner." She added, giving Naruto a peck on the cheek.

"Meh…You have got me now, nobody is going to take me away from you." Naruto said, returning the gesture.

In a far distant land, a long female with light blue hair sneezed.

"Damn straight." Hinata said, rubbing her cheek against Naruto's.

"DON'T IGNORE ME!" Mine screeched.

"Stop shouting, will you?" Naruto said. "So I can answer your question."

He looked at Night Raid.

"That was a Flashbang. It is a type of harmless explosive that overwhelms one's senses with a blinding light and loud noise." Naruto explained. "I have used them before in traps for both predators and humans. Its primary usage is to stun, though if it goes off in close proximity to an open eye, there is a likelihood that that eye will be blinded for life. Also, if you hold it when it goes off, you can expect a light burn."

"But why put it where we were standing?" Sheele asked.

"Hey, you were the ones who walked into the area assigned to me without noticing." Naruto said. "I just placed traps all over the place. You lot are lucky that that one was only a flashbang trap…It could have been a poison gas, a sleeping gas or a shrapnel explosive one."

Najenda and the others felt shivers going down their backs. If Naruto had wanted to, he could have killed them all then and there.

And what was scarier was that these three were talking about it as though this was nothing new to them. If only they knew that it was…

The others must have reached the same conclusion…at least the part where Naruto could have killed them all if he wanted to.

"How is it that this complete noob makes better traps than me?" Lubbock whined.

"You didn't make inferior traps per se." Naruto told him. "It is just that your traps were laid out in such a way that they left holes through which to bypass them."

"And the main reason as to why the two of us were able to bypass your traps," Sakura said, indicating herself and Hinata, "was because we have experience in trap detection and avoidance…that and we just followed Naruto's lead."

"In that she means that we have had extensive training by Naruto to avoid traps…" Hinata added. "Especially his own traps."

Lubb seemed to calm down a bit at that.

"Question…do you know how to use that?" Akame asked Naruto, pointing at his sword.

Naruto shook his head.

"This sword belonged to my late best friend, who was also Sakura's lover. I have only got a week's practice with it. I used to me more of a knife fighter type." Naruto answered. "I'm learning to wield his sword in remembrance to him."

Night Raid nodded, accepting his explanation. It wasn't unusual for warriors to wield the weapons of their fallen comrades in order to remember them, especially if said fallen comrade was as close as a sibling to him/her.

Later that day

After formally accepting Naruto, Hinata and Sakura into Night Raid, Najenda started smoking again, whilst talking about a mission they had received.

There was a Slave Trader who was taking people off the streets and then selling the males into slavery, working the mines that fed the Empire's industry, whilst the females were turned into whores and prostitutes for the highest bidders.

The Slave Trader's Brother owns a string of brothels where the slave trade is done as a cover, whilst the sister is the leader of a large drug trafficking ring in the Capital that smuggles the slaves out of the capital for the clients. She also smuggles in narcotics and drugs, as well as weapons and equipment. And don't even get started on any of the other illegal shit she brings in…

Together, these three have already been controlling the underworld in the harbour district of the capital, and held considerable amount of power in the surrounding districts.

"Ok…so these three jackasses are our targets?" Naruto asked. Najenda nodded. "Do we know anything else about them? Such as the blueprints of their homes or wherever they run their businesses from?"

Najenda shook her head. "Their security is Iron clad. None of our agents have managed to get in there, and make it out alive." She explained.

Naruto nodded, before studying the only picture they had of the main brothel. _'Iron clad, eh? Too easy. Sakura could punch through it most likely, but that would bring up too many questions…'_

"Naruto…whatever it is you are thinking…" Bulat began, but Naruto motioned for Hinata and Sakura to approach.

"What do you think?" Naruto asked the two. "Silent and swift or infiltration and sabotage or bit of both?"

"We should try to rescue as many of the salves as we can…I'd go with infiltration." Sakura said.

"I am not so sure…we don't know if the captured people are even in that building." Hinata said. "I'd say Recon first."

"Got a point there." Sakura nodded, before pointing to a figure on the roof. "Think this is a guard as well?"

"Most likely." Naruto said. "Unusual tactic for Crime syndicates, but one that pays of in the short run."

"What is?" Mine asked.

"Having guards disguised as workmen working on roof repairs gives them an incognito air as well as a bird's eye view of the courtyard." Naruto explained.

"You seem to know an awful lot about this type of work, don't you?" Najenda asked suspiciously.

Naruto looked at Hinata and Sakura before sighing. "Well, to be honest, the term Warrior is loosely used in our tribe." He said. "Most of us are highly trained in one area whilst having average training at best in most other areas. Doesn't mean they become good at only one thing though. Sakura is a medic, but she has a mean right hook. Hinata is a skilled tracker, yet she loves gardening and can dance circles around her opponents if she wants to. She also is an excellent cook."

Sakura smiled whilst Hinata blushed in embarrassment at the praise.

"Oh, and don't ask Sakura to cook." Naruto added. "No offence Sakura, but only Sasuke has ever been able to stomach your cooking right from the get-go."

"Don't remember you complaining." Sakura said, trying not to send him to the basement.

"I was trying to get you to date me…what, should I have said something like, 'Sakura-chan, the food you cook looks like crap and tastes worse than it looks, will you please go out with me?'" Naruto asked, imitating his younger voice.

"Point." Sakura begrudgingly said.

"Kitchen…banned." Akame said after a moment.

"I'll have you know that my cooking improved over he years." Sakura said, face red in embarrassment.

"Oh, right…those Mud-Balls at least looked like they were palatable." Naruto said, thinking pose and all. "But still tasted like crap."

For a moment Sakura looked to be about to argue that fact, then… "Alright…you win." She sighed in defeat.

"By the way…what were you specialized in?" Bulat asked Naruto.

"As the heir to the throne, so to speak, I was duty-bound to become a specialist in several areas…so far I have mastered a fair number of skills, but initially I specialized in Stealth, Infiltration, Recon, Survival and Trapping." Naruto listed the areas where he was well versed in. "Since becoming the heir to the throne, so to speak, I had learned Cooking, Hand to Hand Combat, Knife fighting, Caligraphy, How to lead and run a village, how not to make an ass of myself all the time, Politics and thinking about the consequences of my actions. Recently I have taken to learning Swordsmanship, Masonry, and Woodworking."

The following silence was interrupted by Naruto's stomach making its status as 'EMPTY' clear.

Whilst Naruto blushed, Hinata giggled.

"I think that we need to eat first before heading out on this mission…wait…Naruto-kun, when was the last time you've eaten?" Hinata asked.

"I tried eating something on the second day of that hellish trip from the army base to here." Naruto said. "That was what I threw up the next day."

"You mean to tell me you haven't eaten in a few days?" Tatsumi asked.

"Oh, trust us…this is normal for him." Sakura said. "I think his record without food is about a week."

"8 days, 5 hours and 58 minutes." Naruto said, before being led away form the room by Hinata.

"Where can I find the kitchen?" Hinata asked. "Gotta feed this guy something, else he won't be of much use to anyone."

Najenda and Leone smiled at the pair. They both admitted that they were perfect for each other.

And inside Leone's belt, the sealed beast there was planning on affecting its warden in a certain way…hopefully that blind looking girl would pummel her ass into the floor a bit…

 **Chapter 5, the First Mission**

The trio of shinobi stood on a rooftop, peaking around chimneys, studying the building across the courtyard.

"Hinata…see anything?" Naruto asked.

"2 Guards at the gate, 3 patrolling the balconies and 3 more patrolling the gardens, 4 on the roof, trying to act as though they were working…" Hinata said, bulging veins next to her eyes.

"Pretty standard security…none of the non-corrupt leaders would suspect a thing…" Sakura said.

"What about inside?" Naruto asked.

"The entire east wing is nothing short of a warehouse of sorts, except for the third and fourth floor, which looks like a barracks. I count about 40 beds each floor." Came the answer. "And it looks as though he Barracks is hidden behind smaller store-rooms."

"So there may be another, what 70 odd guards on the inside?" Naruto asked.

"68, if that is all there is." Sakura corrected him.

"The West Wing's first and second floor is where the…prostitutes do their…work…" Hinata was turning red as she saw that some of the girls were already at 'work' in some of the rooms. "The upper two floors appear to be where they are quartered…Huh…for a brothel house, their accommodations are actually pretty decent…" Hinata muttered.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"Each room has a double bed, two cupboards, two night tables with lamps on them, a bookshelf, and a bathroom. Wait…the girls are paired up in these rooms…" Hinata said, shaking her head.

"So the West wing is the Brothel business centre, the East wing houses the hired muscle…anything else?" Naruto asked.

"I can't see deep enough into the section behind the building…the walls are ridiculously thick and there are a lot of walls there…" Hinata said.

"So that is probably where the three keep their quarters, offices, treasury and archives." Naruto mused.

"Or where they keep the people they take of the streets until they are processed." Sakura said.

"True…I am going to go and do a bit of extra recon. Hinata, I am sorry, but I'll have to do THAT act." Hinata gave Naruto a deadly glare…she absolutely HATED that act…

"You'd better make up for it later!" Hinata growled out dangerously. Naruto paled at the look, but nodded, before giving her a deep loving kiss.

"I am leaving a reinforced clone to shadow with you." Naruto said. "I'll try making Shadow clones to as often as possible to inform you on any changes

"Will do, Naruto." Sakura said.

Later

A black-haired man hummed to himself as he walked through the alleyway behind the brothel. In his hand he held a book that was about the early days of the Empire, one that had all of his focus on it.

Suddenly a rough hand grabbed his shoulder and he was pushed into the side of the wall, hard. The male tried fighting back.

"Well, well, lookie what we have here, boys." A rough voice said. "We found ourselves yet another plaything for the mistress."

"Aye…he's a fighta too." Another thug said. "The mistress 'specially 'njoys breakin ones like 'im."

Suddenly the man kicked the thug holding him in the chin, making him drop to the floor.

"Hehehe…he's got spunk alright." He said, rubbing his jaw. "Maybe she'll give us a show as she fucks him into submission."

The evil laughter was echoed by the other thugs. One of them approached the male from behind, hefting a club, intent on knocking the man out.

"Koro…lunch time." a new voice suddenly shouted and a large canine-like creature crashed into the mob, ripping limbs form bodies or biting people in half. Shortly afterwards, shooting was heard as the fleeing thugs were gunned down by a young brunette wielding a pair of pistols in her hands.

"Many thanks." The male said. _'Damnit…just when I was about to get my ticket in…'_ he thought.

"You're welcome." The girl said, before looking more closely at the man before her. "You are not from around here, are you?"

"What gave it away? My whisker-like birthmarks?" the man said. "Name's Naruto. Pleasure to meet you." He held out a hand.

The girl giggled at the correct guess. "Seryu. Likewise." She returned the greeting. "So, Naruto…what were you doing in this alley?"

The two of them began walking towards the harbour.

"I was busy exploring the Harbour district so I wouldn't get lost next time I come here." Naruto said. "It is something my late godfather told me…the capital can be a bit…overwhelming for those who have never been here before."

"Sounds like a wise man." Seryu said, understanding what he meant as it wouldn't be the first time she met someone who got lost in the Capital…she wondered how Tatsumi was doing…she grew rather fond of that guy…

Somewhere in the Capital

Tatsumi, who was busy training to blend in with Mine, suddenly sneezed and blamed it on the neon green dress that Mine tried on at that moment.

The Landlord laughed…that dress always seemed to make the males sneeze.

Back to Naruto

"He was indeed…but also the biggest pervert you could possibly imagine." Naruto deadpanned. "He took me on a three year training trip, half of which time he spent peeping at hot springs and visiting brothels."

Seryu decided to reconsider wanting to meet Naruto's godfather…even if they only met in heaven.

"So…do you have a place to stay?" she asked.

"A cabin on my father's ship. It is currently back at sea but should arrive here in a few hours." Naruto explained.

"I see." Seryu said. Just then they reached the Harbour. "Sorry, but I need to return to patrolling this district. Be careful of yourself, Naruto. There is a group of Assassins prowling the city and the guard is busy trying to find them."

"Wish you luck." Naruto said, waving…his other hand, hidden behind his book, held crossed fingers.

That evening

"Well…that was disappointing." Naruto sighed as he sat around the table with Hinata, Sakura, Lubb, Tatsumi and Mine.

"What exactly were you trying to do? Get yourself captured?" Mine asked.

"Impossible…nobody in his right mind would do that." Lubb said.

"Which is exactly why he tried doing it." Hinata and Sakura said in deadpan unison. "As nobody would expect it, it has the highest chance of success." Hinata added, eyebrow twitching.

Lubb and Mine stared at the trio in shock.

"But in hindsight, I am glad that Seryu-san "saved" me." Naruto said, making quotation marks with his fingers.

"Seryu…san…?" Hinata said. "Naruto-kun…care to explain?" Sakura shifted her chair a bit away from the infuriated girlfriend.

"I overheard that our female target has a tendency of…fucking the male captives into submission." Naruto said. "They didn't say how long the males remain in cages before she…gives a public show to all of the guards of her…draining the male of his seed." He looked at Hinata. "So, in a way, Seryu-san saved me being forced to give my first time to some slut with an exhibitionist fetish."

Hinata instantly calmed down. Sakura sighed in relief.

"So…what is your plan now?" Lubb asked.

"First we need to find out how they move the people they kidnapped." Naruto said, before grinning like a fox. Hinata and Sakura blinked, before grinning as well. They would recognize that particular grin anywhere in the world.

"The old sewers." They said, before their grins fell.

"I hope those aren't connected to the latrines in any way." Hinata said with a shiver.

Lubb, who had stood up, rummaged through some scrolls and found something.

"Well, this map shows the old sewer system in the Harbour district. It may help you." He said, handing it to Naruto, who opened it and studied it.

"Well, I'll be damned." He said. "There is a major sewage tunnel running right underneath the brothel…Lubb, do you have maps like these for the other districts?"

The green haired male nodded, getting a few other scrolls.

"I do…but what is this about?" he asked.

"A hunch." Naruto said. "Pinky, could you point out where the other brothels are located?"

Mine bristled a bit at the name but nodded. On a more up to date map of the city she marked each brothel connected with the targets. From there Naruto and Sakura marked the estimated locations of said brothels on the sewer maps that Lubb gave them. The results made Night Raid's eyes widen in surprise.

"All of the Brothels are located on top of major sewer systems. That is how they are moving the captives around without anyone noticing." Mine said.

"Still doesn't explain how you are planning on getting into the compound." Lubb said.

"Oh, right. Quite simple really. We walk right through the front door." Naruto said.

Lubb, Tatsumi and Mine faceplanted on the table. Hinata and Sakura smirked again.

"Have some faith in us, will you." Naruto said, pulling out a hefty bag of coins, followed by Sakura and Hinata pulling out bags of coins themselves.

"Where did you get that?" Mine shouted.

"Oh…those thugs that attacked me had very deep pockets." Naruto said with a shrug.

"I found a Fat Marchant who was extorting a poor family of fishermen." Sakura said. She didn't say that she left his body floating somewhere in the harbour.

"A group of noblemen were getting too close to me for comfort, but when I showed them my eyes, they recoiled in disgust. This happened a few times. Each time I pinched their purses." Hinata said with a smile. "I wonder why I haven't done this back in the old village…it is fun."

"Don't you dare." Naruto warned.

"Aww, Naruto-kun…" Hinata said, playfully batting her eyelids. "I promise not to pinch your Ramen."

Naruto glared at her half-heartedly, before everyone began laughing.

"Anyway, this is what I am planning…" Naruto began.

The next day

Naruto's plan was simple…and when Naruto had come out of the changing room, Lubb, Mine and Tatsumi were utterly shocked at the change.

Naruto's appearance had completely changed into that of a female, complete with rather large breasts that were slightly smaller than Hinata's, long blonde hair…heck…Naruto somehow managed to get the legs right as well…

"How the hell did you manage to change that much?" Lubb asked.

"High level Infiltration technique." Naruto said, still using his male voice to show them it was still him, before switching to his female alter ego's voice. "What…am I not convincing enough?" complete with batting eyelids and a semi-seductive pout, complete with finger on the lower lip.

"What…the…hell?" Mine shouted. _'How does he portray being a female so well?'_

Hinata and Sakura meanwhile whistled nostalgically. "Been a while since you used your 'Naruko' persona." Hinata said.

"You mean a year ago when I had to go and infiltrate that arms manufacturer's home in the mountains? Yeah…getting in was easy…positioning myself so I could break into his vault without issue was a pain in the ass." Naruto grumbled, back in his male voice.

"Lubb…Mine…I think we should stop being surprised at Naruto's achievements." Tatsumi said, shaking his head, feeling a headache on the horizon. His fellow assassins quickly nodded in agreement.

Later, at the Harbour

"…and remember, unless you want to be next, I'd suggest keeping quiet and doing as I say." The gate guards looked up to see a rather flat pink haired noblewoman approach them.

Behind her were two hot females who were dressed as servants. Each of them carried a smallish chest that appeared rather heavy, if the slight struggling was any indication.

As the group approached the gate, the noblewoman marched right past the guards, who let her pass, before the one reached over to grope the bluenette.

"Hey…Leave her alone." The noblewoman shouted, lashing out with her riding crop. "I have a schedule to keep, and I would prefer it if I didn't have to waste my time keeping you from molesting my hand-servants. Unless you want me to take it up with your master." The guards paled and quickly got back to their positions.

With an arrogant huff, the noblewoman gave a sharp command for her servants to follow.

Internally the three woman were giggling/chuckling though. 'Naruko', Hinata and Sakura couldn't believe how much they missed infiltration missions…it was so much fun to mess with the clecless guards.

Naruto's plan was to have Sakura act like an arrogant Nobleman's wife, with Naruto, changed into 'Naruko', and Hinata acting as her servants.

Once inside, Naruko quickly made clones at the first opportunity, and whilst the clones went and searched the building, the real one, Hianta and Sakura would go about buying some virgins if there were any, supposedly for Sakura's 'husband's' enjoyment.

And the contents of the chests: the gold and jewels that the three of them had pinched the previous day.

Why risk capture if you could just as easily frame the bad guys and not have any hard evidence on you?

Phase 1, Infiltrating some Recon Clones, complete.

Phase 2, rescuing some of the captives, start.

Shortly afterwards

Greed is a powerful tool…especially when used by someone with Shinobi training.

Sakura, Hinata and Naruko met all 3 siblings in a large office whose walls were lined with several shelves of books, some of whom appear to be diaries.

Sakura, keeping up with the cocky noblewoman façade, gave her demands and had Naruko bring her chest forward. Opening it, she revealed it to be full of gold coins.

This made the trio look at each other, clearly considering the offer, but greed for more were clear on their faces.

"This is just for the virgins." Sakura said at this point. "This on the other hand…" she snapped her fingers, telling Hinata to come forward with her own chest. Opening it, she revealed three large diamonds and a handful of smaller emeralds. "…is so that I can choose from the virgins you have here."

The sight of the precious stones was enough to convince the three greedy crime bosses…to try and capture the noblewoman and hold her ransom for more money and valuables…and then to sell her servants to the highest bidder.

However, when Naruko and Hinata drew swords seemingly from between their cleavages, the three crime bosses quickly reconsidered and accepted the deal…after the two of them beat up the guards they called in.

They were led to a theatre-like room that was currently empty, and after a while a series of young women were led on stage. Almost immediately three young girls, one bluenette, pinkette and a blonde, caught the eyes of Sakura, Naruko and Hinata. Sakura immediately chose those three. As more females were led onto the stage, Naruko, Sakura and Hinata chose 5 more, all being young females whose eyes held carefully hidden hatred for the slavers, meaning they hadn't been broken yet…

…and apparently…

"My Lady…are you sure of your choice? These girls are all the biggest troublemakers we have…" the Slaver said.

…they are more than meets the eye…

"Oh…I'd say I can be very…persuasive." Sakura said, putting on a rather evil grin that looked like it was taken from her inner persona…or from Anko whenever she got a new torture target in T&I

The Slaver and his siblings saw the 8 virgins quiver in fear at the look Sakura has on her face.

 _'Well…they would be her problem now…saves us a lot of trouble…'_ they thought.

She led the 8 of them out, leading them towards a ship that had come in, carrying a corrupt fat merchant, that had been…liberated by a handful of hange'd clones.

A quick paintjob later and nobody was any the wiser.

Phase 2, saving some hostages, complete.

Phase 3, ending the entire operation, Start.

Once on the boat and having set sail, Naruto went into a cabin and undid his henge, emerging a few minutes later in his original form, much to the surprise of the freed virgins.

"Who are you?" the pinkette demanded. Naruto smiled at her, before reaching over.

"Don't touch her!" the bluenette shouted, grabbing his arm. The other one was grabbed by the blonde.

"Do you want to remain in these chains forever?" Naruto asked with a deadpan expression. He continued his motion, slower this time, until he grabbed the slave collar on both sides. With a quick burst of chakra into his arms, he broke the metal. Slowly he reached for the shackles on the pinkette's wrists and ankles.

"My name is not important at this stage." Naruto said. "Neither are the names of my two comrades."

He was about to reach for the bluenette next when Sakura and Hinata entered the room.

"Myself and these two ladies here…we are with Night Raid." Naruto had to suppress a smirk at the shocked faces they made.

"N-Night Raid?" several of them tried crawling backward.

"That's right. But we are not here to hurt you." Sakura said, joining Naruto in removing the metal shackles and collars…warping the metal chain with her grip alone. Hinata meanwhile handed out loaves of bread, meat and water to the girls, who looked surprised at the gesture.

"Uhm…thank you for freeing us…but what will you do with us now?" the Blonde asked.

"Well…To be honest, that is not something I'd want to speak about this close to the capital." Naruto said, looking out of the window.

POV change, the recently freed girls

"You know what to do, right?" the man suddenly said to the other two girls, one of whom became very sad.

"Where are you going?" Air asked.

"To finish the job." He said, giving the pretty bluenette a kiss before leaving the room, leaving the girl in Lala land…

"Damn…He's taken, but I sure wish to be in her position." Air heard one of the others, Cloud if her memory is still intact, whisper. "I am sure that that bimbo won her over with those massive jugs of hers…"

…and apparently at least one of us feeling jealous…

"This 'Girl with the Milk Jugs' can hear every word you are saying…" the subject of her words said, eyebrow twitching. The glare she sent us was highly unnerving.

Cloud and everyone of us kept quiet at that.

 **Chapter 6, This is too easy**

After returning to the city from the boat, Naruto made his way into the alleyway he was ambushed in the previous day and waited for night to fall.

Not sensing anyone in the area, he channelled his chakra into the wall and used the **Earth Style: Hidden Mole Jutsu** to slowly phase through the wall, onto the property.

 _'Damn…using Doton Jutsu takes a lot out of me…'_ he thought, breathing deeply to regain his breath.

He slipped into a nearby bush and quickly changed into an ANBU costume, including an ANBU mask…then silently chuckled to himself, remembering the times he used this to infiltrate ANBU HQ and pranked them…the next day he woke up to being chased by angry ANBU for 2 days straight…but it was so worth it.

He then made his way towards the main building and used the same jutsu from earlier to phase through the wall, ending up inside the warehouse section of the building. Naruto looked around as he regained his breath. All around him were stores of food, wine, ale, bedding, cushions…the list went on. He began searching the entire room. At one point he had to hide when a pair of servants entered to get a barrel of wine from storage.

Quickly making a few hand signs, he used a jutsu created by his Godfather Jiraya…what the old perv used the **Toton no Jutsu** for is something Naruto swore not to do.

But for Infiltration, when combined with his already high Stealth Level, well, only people with an ocular Bloodline would be able to detect him.

And he highly doubted that anyone in this new world had such a skill.

He met up with his clones inside the roof of the building which didn't look like it had been visited in years.

"Anything?" the original Naruto asked.

"Slaver sends all of the captives into the basement for 'Further processing', as he called it." The first clone said.

"Brothel Owner is in the west wing, said something about inspecting the condition of the whores." A second clone said. "I heard him telling his guards to get a few of the 'stocks' ready for something called 'the treatment'."

"Drug Lord Bitch is currently in the main auditorium where you guys bought those girls earlier today. The main body of the guards are there a well. I stopped looking when she started fucking one of the poor captives." A third clone said. "The poor dude was tiny…and she was already moaning like a whore at that size…" he shuddered.

"I overheard that she only fucks the males in front of a crowd…and breaks the females at night in her own quarters." A fourth clone added with a shudder. "That psycho really has a few screws loose."

"I think all three of them do…Slaver takes 4 whores with him into bed apparently…and they each end up filled to the brim by morning." The first clone said.

"…I did not need to hear that." Naruto said.

"Oh, trust me…Brothel Owner is worse…he isn't even into…" Naruto dispelled all of his clones before he heard what was to come…though afterwards he knew exactly what was going to be said.

"Great…one psycho slut with drug issues with a thing for small pricks, one gay fag who likes to take things up his ass as well as pushing things up asses and a guy with a raging Libido…I wish I could get drunk and forget about this afterwards…" Naruto murmured to himself, before getting to work.

First of he headed into the office where he and the others met the three siblings earlier. It was guarded by two guards, which Naruto quickly and quietly disposed of, before making 2 clones and turning them into said guards.

The lock was even easier to break open…Naruto could almost fit his finger through the keyhole…the morons must have thought that a bigger key means a stronger lock…

Ah…the beauty of chakra is that Naruto was able to manipulate the locking mechanism with his chakra by using an advanced version of the turning-leaf-stick-exercise he learnt during the war.

Not that advanced to be honest, but it took Naruto a while to master it.

Once inside, he locked the door and went about making a dozen clones and going through the ledgers and diaries.

Most of it was just admin and logistics for the brothel empire, however three of the clones found hidden safes behind some of the book shelfs.

Opening those was a bigger challenge as they had three code dials each.

Whilst the clones were busy cracking the safes, Naruto went through the tables. Inside one of them he found a file detailing each and every Noble family to whom the Slaver had sold slaves to in the past month alone. It had the name and surname of the Noble Family, the location of their home, the number of slaves sold and the name(s) of the slaves.

Interestingly enough the last names on the list weren't his group…no there were three other noble families to whom the Slaver had sold another dozen or so slaves.

"These people will not remain slaves if I can help it…" Naruto growled. He made a mental note to create an army of clones and go on a spree…before thinking that doing so would make some people link the tribal disappearances to him…and from there to his village.

Just then one of the clones working the safes whistled to catch his attention. He had opened his safe. Inside were more files, listing more slave sales, as well as a map of the empire detailing slave markets across the entire empire.

"I am sure that the Revolutionary Army would want to see these…" Naruto said to himself…literally.

"No Shit…and they'd tell Night Raid to go and save their asses." The clone responded.

At this time the second and third safe had opened. Inside were files on Drug Trafficking and Illegal businesses done in the other brothels respectively. The former had a few maps showing where the drugs were being manufactured and stockpiled. The latter safe contained files on each of the whores working for the Brothel Owner who is…Naruto rubbed his eyes to make sure he was reading this correctly…less than 10 years old…

And by the looks of it…there are at least 30 of them…

"Well…we have this now…time to go and save the empire a lot of grief…" Naruto said. The urge to go and destroy a series of buildings was becoming hard to resist.

He quickly and quietly sealed everything in a scroll…and silently thanked kami that he started learning seals, though he was only able to create simple seals such as storage seals…explosive seals were in Tenten's pay grade. **(1)**

Later that night

Assassinating the three targets was easier than Naruto thought it would be…

He had made several clones who went about clearing out all of the patrols.

The Slaver had retreated into his chambers with his nightly retinue of slaves…Naruto had simply waited inside his room holding a Kunai, ready to cut the bastard's throat. The females thanked him, before making a run for it…after he assured them that his 'friends' had replaced the guards and would let them leave without issue.

The Brothel Owner was a bit trickier, as he was busy with penetrating an unfortunate slave when Naruto arrived in his quarters. Naruto left the Kunai inside his head whilst telling the slaves to run for it.

The Drug Lord Bitch…this wasn't an assassination at all…Naruto arrived at the auditorium to see her surrounded by unconscious men and women whilst the guards were shouting out gleefully. Naruto made several shadow clones who blocked the entrances, including those behind the stage, then stop each and every guardsman that attacked them. The Bitch herself was quickly silenced curtesy to a kunai through the throat from the original Naruto.

That left the rest of the slaves…Naruto made a few dozen clones to deal with them.

By the time he reached the rendezvous, he was silent and trying to convince himself that he did good…and to deal with the disturbing sights he as trying to forget.

He was still wearing the bloody costume when he walked into the barn outside of the Capital, scaring the hell out of the freed slaves and getting concern from his fellow rescuers.

"You look like crap." Sakura said.

"I feel like it." Naruto responded, removing his mask.

"What happened?" Hinata asked.

"Later…we need to get back to the hideout." Naruto said. "I only want to explain things once…"

Hinata sighed before embracing him, not caring for the blood on his armour…she had hugged him in worse conditions before. She led him over to a bench where she sat him down, before sitting next to him, allowing him to rest his head on her shoulders.

But rest was something he wouldn't get right now…

Naruto looked up as the 8 freed slaves stood before him and thanked him, bowing.

Naruto nodded in acceptance, before telling them to get some rest. They'd have a long journey ahead of them tomorrow.

Next day

"…and that is pretty much what happened." Naruto said, handing over the files that he had unsealed beforehand soas not to arouse suspicion. "Some of these files list the names of nobles involved in the slave trade. Others list Drug dealers and rival Drug Lords. And the rest contain details on a smuggling operation involving almost everything illegal, including poisonous gas, explosive items and foreign slaves."

Najenda took the files as Naruto put the bundles on the table next to her.

"Well done." She said. "Go and get some rest…you look like you'll need it." She added.

Naruto just nodded, before heading towards the stairs. Hinata followed shortly after excusing herself.

"So…you girls know who we are and what we do…" Najenda said, turning to the 8 ex-slaves. "The question is…what will you do now?"

"Naruto suggested we train them in a craft, then send them back into the Capital as contacts." Sakura said. "Personally, I am against this as they just got out of that hell-hole…"

"To be honest…we have nowhere else to go." Air said.

"Each of us got lured in by false promises." Luna said.

"I don't know about the others, but Air, Luna and I are all Orphans." Fal said. Leone looked at the blond in sympathy. "Also, our village was destroyed by a monster swarm."

"If it means getting to spend more time away from the bloody Capital and getting to learn something useful, then I wouldn't mind taking up the offer though." Cloud said. "That way I won't have to sell my body to make a living. And I'll be able to get back at the Empire for murdering my entire Family."

2 others agreed with her there. The other 2 unknown ex-slaves just wanted to return to their villages, whilst Air, Luna and Fal said they'd think about it.

Najenda sat back, considering it.

"Alright…but tell Naruto. The three are his responsibility. If the other three decide to join, they will also be his responsibility. As for the other two, Sakura-san…when is the first of your messengers supposed to arrive?"

"We are supposed to meet them at a village a few leagues south of the Capital in about one and a half weeks." She answered. "I am sure that we can request them to take these two home."

"Appreciated." Najenda said. The two ex-slaves bowed in thanks.

Meanwhile with Naruto and Hinata

Hinata was giving Naruto a lap-pillow on their shared bed, playing with his hair to entice him into sleeping…and so far it was working splendidly, if the light snoring was anything to go by.

"Sleep well, Naruto-kun." Hinata whispered. She knew better than anyone just how much Naruto hated taking the life of an unarmoured person…but give him a day and he'll be back to the usual Naruto.

She blinked, then smiled when she saw Naruto's mouth curve up into a smile slightly…

…seconds before he suddenly jumped up and dragged her down onto the blanket.

She giggled…sometimes it was too easy to get him to sleep…

Soon she joined him in blissful sleep, embraced in his arms that held her like a small kid would hold a teddy bear.

That evening

"Ok…I get that those two are in love with each other…but Hinata-chan really needs to learn to share." Cloud pouted, making Sakura giggle.

"You'd find yourself being held at knifepoint if you tried making any moves on Naruto." The pinkette medic said, remembering the last time a girl tried seducing Naruto…well, even she had to admit that that female idiot was damn pretty.

"Spoken from experience?" Cloud asked, trying to see if there was any good stuff.

"Hell no." Sakura said immediately. "Back in the day he used to chase after me to be honest." Sakura just had to giggle at the shocked faces. Najenda chuckled as well, Akame and Sheele smiled and Mine and Leone were laughing their asses of. Lubb and Bulat just shook their heads. Tatsumi made a thought to ask Naruto when he changed from chasing plains to chasing mountains…as well as asking which one was more worth it…  
"I was in love with his best friend who was also a rival to Naruto." Sakura went on. "Hinata had been chasing Naruto since they were something like 6 or so. That is over 10 years ago." Sakura looked at the cup of tea in her hand, smiling at the memory, but it was a sad smile. "The first time she confessed her love to him, our village as under attack and she suffered a near fatal wound. Naruto went on a rampage…"

"Was that when they started Dating?" another girl, Rain, asked.

"Oh no. They have only been an official couple for about 5, maybe 6 months now, about 3 or 4 months before we had to flee from our original village." Sakura said, still looking down. "The first time she confessed was over a year ago."

"First time?"

"The day before they officially became a couple, the two of them were involved in a battle that wasn't in our favour. Hinata decided that it was a now or never moment and confessed to Naruto again…and this time he responded by asking her out if they both survived the battle." Sakura answered.

"But why was he chasing after you? Isn't he the son of your leader?" Cloud asked.

"It…it's difficult to explain…" Sakura said, not wanting to delve into that subject.

"How so?" Rain asked.

"On the day I was born, our village was attacked by an Ultra-class beast." Someone said from behind them. They turned to see Naruto approaching them, with hands in his pockets. "Both of my parents died defeating the beast, but so too did a lot of our warriors. The survivors all grieved, then sought out something on which they could vent their pain and rage."

"And that would be?" the third girl, Storm **(2)** , asked.

"You are looking at him." Naruto answered. "I grew up as the Village Pariah. For my own safety the details of my parentage were kept secret amongst the village elders, as my father had quite the number of enemies amongst the savage tribes."

"Then how did you become the heir?" Mine asked.

"The Title of Village leader is usually given to the strongest and most responsible Warrior…" Naruto answered. "I fought and clawed my way up the hierarchy to get where I am."

"I see…" Mine nodded. Being of tribal decent herself, she understood the concept pretty well.

Najenda and Bulat thought back to their times in the Imperial Army…there they also fought and clawed their way up the hierarchy, with Najenda reaching one of the top positions at an early stage.

"Now…I believe I heard you say something about Hinata and sharing…" Naruto said, stepping out of the way…

"How about telling her that in person?"

…to make way for Hinata with a sweet smile on her face and a dark aura around her body.

Unfortunately, SOMEBODY couldn't read the atmosphere.

"Hell yeah…you can't have that hunk of man-meat all to yourself." Cloud pouted, folding her arms over her chest. "I want some action too."

"You know what?" Hinata told her. "How about getting your own?"

"I'll fight you over him." Cloud stated, getting up. Sakura and Naruto winced in phantom pain at those words.

"You will eat those words in about three seconds." Naruto said.

"Eh?" Cloud said, before Hinata appeared in her face and began striking all of her pressure points.

Three seconds later she dropped to the ground like a bag of potatoes.

"I feel like going for a walk…want to come with, Naruto?" Hinata asked, still giving off that aura.

"You won't give me a choice, will you?" Naruto sarcastically commented, before holding up his arm.

Loosing the aura, but keeping the smile, Hinata wrapped her arms around Naruto's arm and the two of them started walking towards the exit.

"Whilst I agree with Cloud…I don't think that getting on Hinata-san's bad side is worth the trouble." Rain said, sitting back.

"I actually pity Cloud…knowing Hinata, she won't be getting any training from him anytime soon…" Sakura said. "And I reckon she will personally train her…"

"Poor girl." Najenda said.

"Anyway…How long until the next assignment?" Sakura asked.

"Depends on how fast we find intel on any of the nobles on the lists you gave us." Najenda said. "Whilst most Nobles are corrupt, there are some who hold a kind heart and treat their slaves and servants well."

"Thank god for that." Sakura said. "I did not really enjoy acting as a noble."

"I find that hard to believe." Tatsumi said.

"You have had a bad first impression with that noble family…most people do." Najenda said.

"That is not what I mean…when you were practicing your act in the hideout, you gave off the vibe that you enjoyed yourself immensely and was having a field day." Tatsumi said. Off to the side Lubbock agreed. Mine nodded, not wanting to reveal that she had been tempted to blast her with Pumpkin.

"Look, I get that a lot, but in truth…acting like a prude and all that reminds me of the days when I used to beat the shit out of Naruto for no reason whatsoever, all to try and impress a boy who had been focused on revenge and wouldn't give me the time of day." Sakura said. "And before you go and ask questions…don't. Everyone of us has a dark part in our life…those days were some of mine."

"Ok…what about Naruto-kun?" Rain asked.

"I'd say up until about 3 years ago, the only light he had in his life was one who was the leader of the village back then." Sakura said.

"And Hinata-san?" Storm asked.

"She had several dark spots here and there…nearly being kidnapped by a village under the act of wanting to end hostilities with us; Nearly being killed by her own cousin who blamed her for the death of his father; nearly dying at one point…" Sakura shook her head. "If you don't want to see them depressed for an entire day, don't ask either of them what happened."

With that Sakura stood up and headed to the library to read some books to get her mind of the topic at hand.

 _'Where is a good fight when I need it?'_ Sakura thought to herself.

Meanwhile, Naruto and Hinata were sitting on the cliff's edge, watching the sunset together. Naruto sighed, before turning around, making Hinata moan slightly at the loss of her head-rest.

Behind them they saw the first three girls they had rescued: Air, Luna and Fal.

"Yes Air, Luna, Fal. What can I do for you?" Naruto asked.

"We have reached a decision…" Air said.

"And? What have you decided?" Naruto asked.

The three girls looked at each other, as though unsure on what to do in this case.

"Uhm…well…we were wondering…whether or not…" Luna began.

"We want to know whether or not we can join your village." Fal said. "We have no attachment to our old village as it is destroyed, and none of us want to remain in the Capital."

"We wish to start over, you know, clean slate and all." Air added. "And we heard that you are building a new village somewhere…we were wondering if you accept people from outside of your tribe."

Naruto and Hinata looked at each other. She understood that he wanted to help people, but being allowed into their village?

"I'll need some time to think about this…living in our village…can be rather…difficult and strange…" Naruto said.

"Can't be much worse than being chained up and living inside a cage." Air said.

"Also…there isn't a guarantee that you will be allowed outside of the village once you know some of our…secrets." Hinata added quietly.

"Secrets?" Luna asked.

"Sorry, but we don't fully trust the empire or the revolutionists enough to lay everything bare to them." Naruto said. "But…if you accept a set of conditions, I can bring you to our village. Whether or not you remain there will be up to you."

"At least we will have a chance to see what we are getting into." Air said.

Luna and Fal agreed as well.

Naruto sighed, reluctantly letting go of Hinata's soft hands and walking towards the bunker, to request a couple of horses for the girls as well as leave to go and return home for a while in order to see what his village thinks of these girls.

 **(1): No…Naruto is NOT going to be an OP Seal Master…**

 **(2): Cloud, Rain, Storm…names that are easy to remember in future chapters…don't worry they won't be assassins…**

 **…**

 **AND DONE!**

 **Sorry, I had intended to upload this bundle earlier, but for some reason, I have of habit of deleting large portions of the story because it conflicts with future content I had planned…**

 **Please R &R.**


	3. Chapter 7 - 9

**Hey all.**

 **Sorry for the long wait, as I said my laptop got stolen and all that…and in the meantime I had been on a pair of camps.**

 **I rushed one of the arcs as I didn't know what to change in it…**

 **My first take was something along the lines of leaving Tatsumi to the mercy of Esdeath, then have him rescue him whilst he, Esdeath and the Jaegers were having lunch. And then having Esdeath swap her targeting system onto him…**

 **This wouldn't work for several reasons: first, then chakra would have to be revealed, thereby making both the Empire and the Revolutionary Army try to recruit them or destroy them because of Paranoia. Another thing would be that up until that point, Naruto, Hinata and Sakura were only using Chakra in secret.**

 **The second take started out with both Naruto and Tatsumi entering the tournament, with Esdeath initially gunning for Tatsumi, until Naruto thrashed him in the next round…then Hinata coming in guns blazing and the city being destroyed in the ensuing catfight…yeah…too extreme…**

 **Take three was only Naruto entering the tournament, Esdeath kidnapping him and so forth…same as the final (take four), only for Naruto to kill her in the night and then fighting his way out past the other Jaegers. The problem here is a) Naruto doesn't kill in cold blood (Unless it is a Zetsu clone who stole his Ramen), and I think that fighting the Jaegers would require him to reveal the Chakra element to the Empire.**

 **Take four…well…its after the Responses to Reviews bit below.**

 **Responses to Reviews:**

 **Anko4Life:** Appreciate the response…for a while I thought you'd be the only person to respond and thanks for the ongoing support.

 **Master-of-Mythology:** Ah, Esdeaths criteria…Hinata is sooooo going to not like this…

 **On to the Story…**

 **Chapter 7: Enter the Ice-Queen**

Naruto sighed in relief as he and Hinata arrived home after a long journey on foot.

The relief coming in as they no longer had to hear the continuous whining from three girls they were escorting.

"This sun is killing my hair…"

"I have lost all feeling in my legs…"

"I am tired…"

"It's too hot…"

…you get the idea.

And the only thing stopping Naruto from turning on them and telling them to shut up was Hinata's rather evil idea…of having Lee be their caretaker.

Even Naruto shivered at the thought…and agreed with her…

Now they were walking across the bridge, at which the girls also wouldn't shut up…

"""WOOOW!""" all three of them said in awe…until far below them one of the monsters roared, making them go…

"""WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?"""

"That was one of our watchdogs." Naruto idly commented.

"You should probably try and pet them someday." Hinata added sweetly.

"Or you could shut up and follow us." Naruto added, to which the three girls, now as pale as white paper, nodded rapidly.

Once they arrived at the other end of the bridge, Naruto breathed in…

Hinata quickly put her hands to her ears and motioned the girls to do the same.

…and shouted at the top of his volume, "I'M BACK!"

"Troublesome…" the response came immediately as out of the tunnel walked a lazy and tired looking Shikamaru. "Did you have to shout when we were about to come and greet you, Naruto?"

"Yup. Had to make sure you were awake and not sleepwalking." Naruto smirked.

Shikamaru grumbled something about that being Temari's job but returned the smirk and clasped hands with Naruto and Hinata.

Said female blonde appeared from the shadows and whacked him on the head with her fan, before greeting them as though nothing had just happened.

Slowly more and more of the surviving shinobi arrived to greet their leader who was back.

Air, Luna and Fal were more surprised to see so many children younger than them there than there being around 250 people in this village alone, which is a pretty big number for a village by their standards.

"…and since you were away, some of the younger children have started getting nightmares and homesick. Troublesome." The three of them heard Shikamaru tell Naruto.

"Why is that?" Naruto asked.

"Probably because since the war you carry with you an air of protection and safety." Temari said. Naruto and Hinata looked at the ex-Suna Kunoichi. "They all see you as their new Father figure, or as a big brother, and look up to you as a role model."

Naruto couldn't help but smile bashfully at the comment.

"Me? A role model?" he asked. His answer was being swarmed by the latest arrivals: the younger children.

"Naruto-niisan!" they all squeaked and squealed.

"Naruto told us that he is the leader of a village of survivors…but this is ridiculous…" Fal commented.

"Why aren't there more adults?" Air added.

Luna just agreed with both of them.

"Because we live by a code…a creed if you will." A blonde girl told them. She introduced herself as Ino before explaining the Will of Fire to them, including the part where the younger generation is the most important thing to them.

Later

"…and that is what lead me and Hinata to returning early." Naruto finished his story.

"And what about Sakura?" Ino asked.

"Just before we left she told us about setting up a safehouse or something in the Capital. Not sure what she is up to though." Hinata said.

Everyone in the room who was in the village nodded in understanding.

It was Konohamaru who turned to the three refugees.

"We understand the situation, however, before we reveal our village secrets to you three, you will have to agree to certain conditions…" he began.

"We know you are busy rebuilding, and I at least am willing to pull my weight." Luna said. Fal and Air agreed after thinking about it.

"Are you sure you'd be able to carry a secret that will mean your death if you reveal it?" Konohamaru asked darkly.

This made the girls freeze. They had no idea that the village held secrets that high.

"Yes." They eventually said.

"In that case, Kon, why don't you fill them in?" Naruto asked him. "I am sure that you, Moegi and Udon would like something else to do other than running gauntlets and building structures."

"HELL YES!" came three different voices, two of them from a hiding spot inside the wall.

"Good guys." Naruto said with a smile. He turned back to Shikamaru. "I will head over to Tenten's forge and get a fresh supply of Kunai and Shuriken for myself, Hinata and Sakura."

"You'd better do that." Shikamaru agreed. "Also, make a few clones and help out with the construction while you are at it, will ya."

"Hm? Clones?" Luna asked. "What are those?"

"This." Naruto said, crossing his fingers and creating a bunch of shadow clones, royally freaking the girls out as there were now more of him.

Hinata giggled, unable to stop herself upon seeing their faces.

"Want to see something awesome?" the real Naruto asked the girls, who hesitantly nodded.

Shortly afterwards

Luna, Air and Fal were rubbing their eyes to make sure that they were seeing things properly…

Rank upon rank of Narutos marched out of the small cave they were in in neat rows of 5 clones, each row splitting off heading towards a different part of the village where they would get to work building the village.

"Ok…I'll admit…this is cool." Fal eventually said and every single clone and shinobi smirked.

Naruto and Hinata stayed longer than they had planned due to a violent thunderstorm that suddenly struck the day they wanted to leave. Naruto spent the time teaching the youngest survivors about the usage of chakra, how to feel it, flow it through their limbs, more often than not relying on either Shikamaru and/or Hinata to explain the more complicated things as he never fully paid attention to Iruka's classes. Shikamaru found it troublesome until Temari smacked some sense into him whilst Hinata just smiled, before blushing at the thought of children with Naruto (and teaching them…).

Half a week later

Naruto and Hinata returned to the hideout as the sun was setting, sighing in relief as they had basically been running non-stop since leaving the village in order to catch up on lost time.

Inside they encountered Sakura who was in the kitchen, talking to Mine of all people. Naruto theorised it was because they were both lacking in sex-appeal, though he was surprised that Sakura wasn't angry at Mine for being bigger than her in the chest.

Must have been countered by the fact that Sakura was taller than the other pinkette…

Anyway…he was surprised to see Sakura in the kitchen in the first place as she was a notoriously dangerous chef. Not because of the tools of a chef's trade, but because of what she creates…

Bulat as usual was training in the field with a Bo-staff, which was as always reeking of sweat…Naruto wondered how on earth the Empire hadn't smelled them out yet.

With him at the training field was Tatsumi who was swinging a sword that reminded Naruto of Zabuza's sword.

Lubb was being a perv and was spying on Sheele who was bathing in the hot spring, blissfully unaware that Lubbock was only 30 feet in front of her…that is until Leone jumped on him and used him as a sitting log…whilst holding a barrel of beer in her hand.

Najenda was having a smoke as always.

Akame was probably out hunting for meat…or raiding the pantry.

"I think that we have missed nothing important." Naruto said to Hinata.

"I think so too." The answer held the same deadpan tone as the question.

Meanwhile

In a land far, far away where one is always freezing his/her ass off, the most Elite army in the Empire was waging a crusade to defeat a mighty King whose armies had already slaughtered a number of Imperial Armies…until this one came along.

The king of the northern tribes spent close to 5 years to expand his territory, defeating the Imperial Garrison within a month, and gaining territory with each subsequent victory.

Now, within 2 weeks, he was forced back to his Fortress in the frozen mountains of the northern lands by this newest army led by one of the most feared generals in Imperial History, if not THE most feared general.

Seriously…this bitch has a heart colder than dry Ice…fitting if you think about it. Esdeath has the power to control Ice and freeze anything from someone's ass to an entire city.

What made her army so powerful though was that she actually cared for her men, providing the best equipment, whilst killing the people who try to sell her cheap gear.

Still doesn't mean she isn't a bitch.

Now said bitch is besieging the fortress after smashing through any attempt the king had made to delay her advance in order to get his people to safety.

The only thing that gave him and his people hope was that the Fortress was designed to withstand any siege.

The next day the King was lying at the feet of General Esdeath, utterly defeated, his army defeated on the walls as Esdeath created ramps up to the battlements.

The Fortress became a tomb within a day.

Now Esdeath was reading a missive from the Capital, recalling her to the city in order to aid with defeating Night Raid.

"Well…the fighting has been rather dull up here…" she said. She gave the order to her men to prepare to return to the Capital within the week, giving her soldiers time to rest.

She is still a bitch though.

TImeskip

The next few weeks passed quickly for Naruto and Night Raid. Naruto was busy training the three newest recruits, Cloud, Rain and Storm, in the arts of silently gathering Information, via various different techniques.

Cloud Decided to work in a Pub near one of the Imperial Garrisons. Naruto mainly focused on her multi-hearing skills with the help of the others in Night Raid. He also taught her how to use her own charm to bring in the cash for the Tavern owner, ensuring that he wouldn't fire her so easily.

Rain decided to work in the market, selling farm produce from a Farmer who is secretly supporting the Resistance. She would be stationed at one of the Market places. She was taught to keep her eyes open for anything unusual. The additional skill that was taught to her was how to effectively market her goods…in the end, Sakura rated that she'd be a demon on the market.

Storm made a risky choice…she decided to work in a brothel. Naruto taught her techniques on how to subtly extract small amounts of information out of her clients, not too much otherwise she'd blow her cover. Sakura and Hinata taught her some skills they also learned in the seduction classes back during the Academy. Hinata also taught her about certain nerve clusters/pressure points through which she could completely relax her target, making him more susceptible to giving out information…or be wrapped around her finger.

And where did Hinata learn these skills? Well, she knew about the nerve clusters/pressure points from the academy, but only perfected their usage when she and Naruto became a couple.

Naruto still hadn't found out how she always makes him talk so much about his day…

In addition to these specialized skills, the three also learned the basics of what the other two learned. Added to the self-defence lessons Naruto was giving them, they went to bed each day tired to the bone, only to wake up the next day, sore to the core and wet from the water bucket Naruto would use to wake them up.

Cloud had once tried to sneak into Naruto's room, only to open the door to come face to face with Hinata's sweet smile. The next thing she remembered, she was naked and hanging by her feet above a pond filled with hungry piranhas.

Since then she stayed away from Naruto as much as possible, not wanting to piss Hinata off once more…

In the last week however, Night Raid was hit hard.

It started out with several of their supporters being killed by someone impersonating Night Raid. Then they were deployed to a) find out who is responsible and b) defend their surviving allies. Tatsumi and Bulat were the ones who engaged those responsible. They managed to defeat the three people responsible, but in the process, Bulat fell to a poison that was injected into him by one of the three people.

His Teigu, Incursio, passed on to Tatsumi, who used it to basically one-hit kill the last member.

And whilst on another mission, Sheele fell as well, taking out an entire battalion of Imperial guards until a guard with a pet Teigu arrived…

Her Teigu was captured by the Empire…

It was still a dark day for Night Raid…Bulat had been their strongest member, at least as far as the assassins knew, and Sheele was a friend to all of them.

Following this event, Naruto entered the City to make the final preparations for the beginning of his own Spy network. One that will one day spread out across the Empire and all surrounding lands.

Once in the City, he created a small army of clones, henge'd into some random people he saw back in the Revolutionary Army…of whom 50% were apparently former soldiers of the Empire, and the Naruto clones decided to give the Imperial Soldiers a bit of a goose chase around the capital, whilst the rest went about gathering informants.

One does not live three years with the worlds biggest pervert and greatest spy-master without learning how that is done after all.

And him being an expert at catching the attention of pretty much every single person in the Village back in the day and being able to outrun them…well, had he added in the paint bombs he had back in the elemental nations, he would have burned this day into the memories of each and every Imperial citizen for decades to come…

By the end of the week, Naruto had numerous agents loyal to him feeding him information on any unusual movements amongst the Imperial Guards…even inside the Imperial Army itself, with his highest-ranking informant being a Captain in charge of a section in the Harbour district.

Naruto recruited him after bringing in Sakura to heal his daughter and wife, both of whom were poisoned by a corrupt doctor who was in the pocket of a local crime-lord with whom the captain had had trouble with quite a lot of the time.

Both the Doctor and the Crime Lord were later found bound and tied up in front of his office, together with a mountain of paper evidence, enough to warrant him arresting them for life without a trial.

And on his desk Naruto left him a letter, detailing that if he wanted to help do good for the people…basically he was to meet him somewhere. There they reached an agreement, he became an informant and Naruto would help him out whenever he needed some…unorthodox methods.

On a side note, Naruto also got a bit into gambling. With his luck he quickly raised a fortune…especially since he hit at least 10 Casino's at the same time…

There were other hiccups though.

Whilst on a date, Naruto and Hinata encountered a very corrupt merchant who wanted to buy Hinata from Naruto, offering a 12 digit number for her.

Naruto's response to that was turning to Hinata and saying, "A bit of a low price there, don't you think?"

Hinata giggled and nodded.

"Sorry, but I wouldn't trade her for all the gold in the world." Naruto told the merchant.

"How about this then." The merchant said, snapping his fingers. "You hand her over and I will let you leave here alive." As he said this, dozens of thugs surrounded Naruto and Hinata.

"Shall we dance, Milady?" Naruto asked Hinata with as much of a gentlemanly voice as he could muster.

"Of course, my good sir." Hinata responded very lady-like and the two began dancing in the street…whilst simultaneously kicking every thugs ass without breaking a sweat.

The Imperial guards who arrived to see what the commotion was about didn't know whether to applaud the couple for the dance or for their ability to completely dominate the fight whilst dancing.

Another hiccup happened when Naruto's greatest fear happened: The Ramen store he found and frequented in the city was closed down after some Noble blamed the owner for serving crap food and bribing the officials to have the joint closed.

That very night Naruto infiltrated the Noble's home, raided his office, found evidence for the unjust action. He also left a nasty surprise for the bastard for when he would wake up…

The poor man ran out of his house the next day, covered in paint and feathers, with a long pink dildo glued to his hand and another one stuck up his backside with additional feather glued to it to make it look like a rooster's tail.

When Najenda heard about this, she wondered if killing the nobility was really the worst thing that could be done…

 **Chapter 8, the 'Oh Crap' Tournament**

A few days later

"So have any of you heard? General Esdeath has been recalled to the Capital." Lubbock said over Breakfast.

"Esdeath…isn't that…" Naruto began.

"…the general who wields that Ice Teigu. Yes." Hinata confirmed.

"What can you tell me about her?" Naruto asked.

"She's a bitch." Najenda immediately answered. "A respectable, blood thirty, warmongering, honourable bitch."

"That is not a group of words I expected to hear about her." Naruto said.

"I respect her prowess as a general and strategist. She is a blood knight in the closest sense of the name, her reason for existing is none other than to be in war…However, she never breaks a promise, she cares dearly for those under her command, thereby gaining their trust and loyalty. Either way…she is a bitch who will do ANYTHING to achieve her goals."

"Take away the honourable part, and she'd be a perfect match for Orochimaru." Naruto muttered.

"No shit. Glad that guy is dead." Sakura agreed. Hinata just nodded.

"Who is Orochimaru?" Bulat asked.

"A scientist who turned into a traitor to our village decades ago…guy was a fucking psycho scientist, as well as a certified lunatic." Naruto growled.

"He specialized in Human modification and/or augmentation, trying to find the secret to eternal life." Hinata continued. "He experimented on children…with his experiments having a 99% mortality rate…"

"Add to that, he founded his own village and had his lackeys wage a skirmish war on us." Sakura said. "The only reason why we weren't able to find and kill that fucker for years is because we didn't know where his village was located." She clenched her fist.

"Sounds like you have…personal issues with this guy." Najenda said, pulling on her cigarette…the second since the conversation began.

"Our, as in Sakura and my teammate was brainwashed and seduced with the promise of power by him. it took us 3 years to get him back." Naruto said darkly. "After he returned, he and Sakura became…well, they would have been married by now had he not died when…" Naruto also clenched his fist, with Hinata and Sakura all shedding tears at the memories of their lost comrades.

Lubbock, reading the atmosphere, decided to change the subject…or rather get back to the original subject.

"Ok…back to what we were discussing earlier…" he said, clapping his hands. "Apparently Esdeath is hosting a tournament, with the winner being granted a wish of his or her choice, as long as it is hers to give."

"Sounds interesting." Naruto and Tatsumi said.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"Think about it, Sakura. If I win that tournament, I will be able to acquire all the tools and resources our new village needs. Free of charge." He told her, no anger, no teasing, just serious.

Sakura sighed, seeing that he had a point.

"Damn…and here I was thinking I could get some cash for my own village." Tatsumi grumbled.

"Oh, I am sure Hinata, Sakura and myself can go and 'visit' some of the nobles and merchants." Naruto said with a smirk. "How much do you need?"

By the next day, Naruto had been registered for the tournament and Tatsumi was busy sending a chest full of coins to his village.

Some days later

"Be safe, alright." Hinata told Naruto. Whilst he, Lubbock, Leone and Tatsumi were heading out to go to the Tournament, she and Sakura were heading out to visit one of the taverns near the harbours land gate.

The Tavern was one of Naruto's recent 'investments'…and in less than a week, it had become one of the most popular taverns in the district, selling Mead and Beer, as well as having hot barmaids who are more scary than housewives…probably the reason only the most drunk of people dare to grope them…only to sober up really quickly curtesy of a slap in the face…and a glare.

These 'Barmaids' are actually street orphans that Naruto rescued and is training in order for them to make a living.

Hinata and Sakura were just heading there because apparently a street gang has been causing problems for the Tavern when it started becoming successful.

"I will, Hinata." Naruto said, gently rubbing her back.

"I get the feeling that to those two, everyone else is considered the third wheel." Rain grumbled, having taken a leaf from the old Cloud's book and gotten envious of the pair.

"Get used to it." Sakura told her. She was used to this already.

"Easy for you to say." Storm growled at her.

Timeskip

The arena where the tournament was packed. Leone, Tatsumi and Lubbock had almost not gotten a seat.

Those that didn't had to crowd around the projectors that were set up around the arena. Ironically those people had to pay more than the rest.

Naruto meanwhile was meditating in the contestants' lounge, ignoring the other fighters who were arguing with each other or sharpening their weapons, some of which looked outright ridiculous.

He had applied as a close quarter combat specialist, and when he showed one of his Kunai, which he stated was his weapon, the dark blue haired dude who smelled of fish commented that that was nothing but a tooth pick.

The fact that the person behind Naruto was a huge brute wielding a sword that was at least a foot wide at the hilt and as long as he was, did not help Naruto's case.

Now, as he was meditating, he felt a presence sit down next to him. It was the brute with the humongous sword, who merely nodded at him before beginning to meditate as well…or was he praying?

Either way, Naruto sensed that this guy knew that to fight effectively one needed to be calm. And therefore he had earned Naruto's respect.

Soon pairs of contestants were called out into the arena, only to return a few minutes later, some with scrapes and bruises, others without.

"Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto opened his eyes once more at the sound of his name being called. "You're up."

Naruto followed the guard until they arrived at a gate leading into the arena, where the guard beckoned him to wait until he is announced.

"From the east gate, we have the mighty Warrior of the eastern Tribes. A mighty mercenary with dozens of battles under his belt…" Naruto dozed off at this point, but the cheering of the crowd snapped him out of the stupor. "From the west gate, facing him, comes a wet behind the ears close quarter combatant…" Naruto's eye twitched at the 'wet behind the ears' part, "…someone, whom I have never heard off at all." Laughter followed this. At the guards signal, Naruto began walking into the arena. "He comes from a small village somewhere in the south, please welcome, Uzumaki Fishcake…"

"MY NAME MEANS MAELSTROM, YOU DUMBASS! LEARN YOUR WORDS!" Naruto roared as he walked out of the door, pissed off, though he pseudo meditated to calm himself.

In the stands his companions were looking at each other.

"I thought his name meant Fishcake…" Tatsumi said.

"Same here…" the other two nodded.

Many were shocked at Naruto's entrance, though many began laughing…as this guy wasn't scary at all.

All impressions were proven wrong when Naruto, in three strikes, defeated the mercenary in a brutal fashion. The first strike was a punch THROUGH the man's sword, shattering it, into his stomach, making him bend over without any air in his lungs.

The second strike was a devastating left uppercut into the mans face, nearly making the man flip over backwards, had Naruto not followed up with a vicious kick that sent the merc flying through the air out of the fighting area.

Shock echoed through the arena. Even Esdeath cocked an eyebrow. This guy was different from the rest of the fighters.

She watched him walk back through the door where he came from, before letting out a chuckle.

"That one sure caught everyone by surprise." She commented. "What do you know about him?"

"Not much, only the details we got from when he applied. Wave-kun spoke to him and from what he was told by Naruto-san, he is about 18 years old and fights with, quote: 'toothpicks for knives'." Run said.

"What, there actually is someone who wields weapons that small?" Seryu asked.

"That isn't stylish at all." Dr. Stylish said.

Only Kurome and Bols remained silent. The latter because he was more focused on his tea whilst the latter was wondering what style Naruto used.

Wave, who was proctoring the matches, meanwhile was confessing to himself that he had underestimated this guy.

The tournament continued and the next time that Naruto appeared, they cheered instead of laughed and they weren't disappointed in him, but in the fight. Naruto's opponent this time was a female wearing a dancer's kimono whilst wielding a metal fan with which she tried to slice Naruto. He merely grabbed her wrists on the first strike and headbutted her once, and she was KO.

"Hey, Proctor." Naruto turned to the judge. "Is there a rule that allows me to challenge every remaining contestant here?"

The man spoke into a radio for a moment, before getting a response, switching channels and speaking again.

"Uzumaki Naruto has challenged every remaining challenger into a one on many, and our gracious host, General Esdeath, has agreed to it." He announced loudly as challengers walked out of every gate. Some 30-odd people of all ages and both genders looked ready to beat Naruto into a bloody pulp.

Wave began the fight and Naruto immediately got into a stance, drawing his Kunai.

The crowd looked on in shock once more, whilst Esdeaths' smile grew wider and she started fantasising, as Naruto began picking off opponents one after another with great speed and devastating punches.

Within minutes he was the last man standing…and both Run and Wave were feeling sorry for the man standing in the arena.

The cheering went on, until it abruptly ended when Esdeath placed a collar around Naruto's neck and proceeded to drag him away.

"W-w-w-what just happened?" Lubbock asked.

"Did Esdeath just kidnap Naruto?" Tatsumi asked, shocked at the turn of events.

"I am more worried about what Hinata will do to us when she finds out…" Leone said. The two boys paled in realization.

If given the choice between fighting Najenda, or facing an angry Hinata, none of them knew what choice to make.

Next day

After Naruto had been informally inducted into the Jaegers, where he was introduced to the pyromaniac tea brewing gentleman, Bols, the rather chilled yet psychopathic Seryu, the creepy Orochimaru-stand-in scientist Dr. Stylish (whom Naruto had to consciously hold himself back from slugging), the quiet gluttonous Kurome, whose hunger reminded him of Akame more than the hair and face, the kind and understanding teacher Run, who gave Naruto the same Vibe as Iruka had, and then there was the guy who called Naruto's weapons Toothpicks, Wave…with whom Naruto quickly formed a small friendship…with both of them having women problems…

And don't even get started on Esdeath, who made it clear right from the start that she had chosen him as her 'mate'…and only Run and Wave felt sympathetic to Esdeath.

Now it was morning and Wave was brewing Coffee in the kitchen when Naruto walked in.

"Morning Naruto, how was your…" he took one look at Naruto and spontaneously change the sentence, "…night which didn't go so well, did it?"

"I could not get a single second of sleep…" Naruto said. "Not with her using me as a body pillow and humping me in her sleep…"

Wave shuddered at the thought.

"I am more worried what will happen when Hi…when my girlfriend finds out about this." Naruto said, accepting the cup of coffee Wave handed him.

"Wait…you have a girlfriend?" Wave asked.

"I had been planning to propose to her once I got the winnings from the tournament, which it seems turned out to be a bluff, wasn't it?" Naruto asked, taking a sip of the brew.

"Unfortunately it was. Why don't you tell Esdeath?" Wave asked.

"Dude…she is trying to make me part of her territory. What do you think will happen if she finds out that I am already marked by someone else?" Naruto asked him.

"I see your point." Wave said. Neither of them had noticed that some of the other Jaegers had entered the room, including Esdeath, who was listening in on the conversation with great interest…how dare some bitch lay claim to her future husband.

"How long have you been together?" Wave asked.

"For just over a year now." Naruto answered.

"That long?"

"Yeah. We have known each other since childhood though." Naruto looked down at the cup in his hand, remembering the old days with a smile. Esdeath felt her heart sink and becoming very jealous, her skin turning green with envy.

She cleared her throat, making both boys look at her in surprise.

"I will want to hear more about this, Naruto-kun." Esdeath told him.

"Forget it." Naruto immediately said, continuing with his coffee.

"Oh come on, Naruto. Don't be like that…" Esdeath said, being strangely seductive at the moment…however, Naruto could smell the pheromones wafting from her, and knew EXACTLY what she wanted.

"Not interested." Naruto's answer made everyone turn to him with a 'are you crazy' expression. "As you guys have already heard, I already have a girlfriend, and I choose to be true to her."

"Such a shame. I'll just have to find out who she is then." Esdeath said aloud.

Naruto began fearing for Hianta's life, hoping that the two of them didn't encounter each other.

Meanwhile

"Say WHAT?!" Hinata shouted. In the room with her, all but Sakura, Akame, Bulat and Najenda were hiding behind the furniture.

Well, to quote Shikamaru, it would be too troublesome to explain what happens next. The reason being that even Akame decided to hide behind a table because of what happened next…

And Najenda quickly decided to head over to the Revolutionary Army HQ to deliver the captures Teigu's and to get any reinforcements in case Mt. Hinata erupted.

A few weeks later

Naruto sighed in relief as he finally managed to get the hell out of, well, Hell. However, by now he had learnt a lot about the individuals of the Jaegers, including a little fact that nearly sent him on a murder spree, that being that the 'good' doctor regularly experiments on children.

Anyway, within a week of his kidnapping, Esdeath had the jaegers clear out a large group of bandits from a mountain stronghold, where Naruto got to see some of their Teigu's in action, the only exceptions being Wave and Kurome.

Anyway, as mentioned earlier, Bols was a true pyromaniac, not sparing a microsecond before incinerating his opponent. At least he didn't spout crap like 'It's BBQ time!'.

Run gave them the option of giving up. Those that didn't, well, they were feathered with holes. His Teigu also was quite broken, in Naruto's mind…I mean, how many people could fly for Kami's sake?

Dr. Stylish doesn't fight per se, but has his minions do the fighting for him. Naruto saw around three different types of people that Stylish modified: those who had been augmented strength wise punched a hole in the enemies defences, enabling those who had their legs modded for speed got through the gap and did flanking manoeuvres. The third type seem to have only super senses and are not useful for actual combat.

Seryu…apparently had convinced Stylish to modify her own body…not she is a walking armory with her Teigu Coro holding all of the heavy weaponry, including but not limited to, something akin to a 150 mm Howitzer, according to her own admission afterwards. Otherwise she has near solid metal arms that have quite the momentum behind them.

Kurome didn't use her Teigu, however Naruto guessed that it had to do with dolls or puppets, considering he heard her say something about playing with the corpses later, referring to them as 'dolls'.

Wave…Naruto wasn't really sure what to think of him. He seemed like a nice guy, and while he was a bit of a dumbass, when fighting, he displayed skill waaay above what Naruto had expected of him. He gave no hints whatsoever about his Teigu.

And then there was Esdeath…oh boy. Whilst watching the entire spectacle, she was acting like a shy blushing schoolgirl, clutching Naruto's hand, preventing Naruto from escaping…just as he was about to try and get the hell out of there.

A few days later the Jaegers were reassigned into the mountains to the north where a large group of high level beasts had been sighted.

On the first day Naruto was lying on the grass, watching the clouds whilst Esdeath, who had assigned herself as his partner for the day, dealt with the 'minor disturbances'.

 _'Well, now I know why Shikamaru likes watching the clouds all day…'_ he thought.

The next day he was assigned to Wave, with whom Naruto spoke most of the time, until Naruto seemingly engaged him, only to start cutting beast Trees into pieces.

Soon Wave was occupied with his own group, Naruto quickly finished his lot before making his escape.

2 minutes later Wave turned around after killing off the last tree, only to see a huge pile of wood, but no Naruto.

"Oh…shit…" he said, before running around like a headless chicken.

For Naruto, the week of no sleep was catching up to him, because as he was running, he found himself growing ever more tired, and soon he was out of the mountain range.

Just as he was crossing a river, his legs gave out, forcing him to swim the rest of the way.

When he reached the opposite bank, he was almost falling asleep…and of course something happened that made him curse his life.

A high-level danger beast walked out of the forest right in front of him, and this guy was hungry…

Fortunately for Naruto, he wasn't the only person in the area…and the danger beast soon learned what it is like to be in the cross hairs of a very pissed off human girl…

The danger beast was later turned into Akame's midday snack.

For now, Hinata helped Naruto back onto his feet, only for him to fall over on her, completely passed out. His last words were, "I missed you."

As he was sleeping on top of a blushing Hinata, she couldn't help but answer, "Welcome back, Naruto-kun."

Lubbock couldn't help it…he pulled out a camera and took a few pictures.

 **Chapter 9, Assault**

"How is he?" Leone asked Hinata as she walked out of their shared quarters. It had been 2 days since Hinata and Lubbock brought Naruto back, and he had been sleeping the entire time.

"Still sleeping." Hinata answered. "I have never seen him this tired before."

"But the way he fell asleep was one of a kind." Lubbock said, showing a few pictures. Hinata, instead of blushing, just smiled as she took the pictures.

"Naruto is not going to believe that he fell on top of me until I show him these." She said.

"Wait…you are not embarrassed?" Sakura asked in wonder.

"Should I be embarrassed to have my sleeping boyfriend on top of me?" Hinata asked, before blushing at the slight insinuation.

"Wow…so bold…" even Mine couldn't help but laugh at Akame's comment.

"It…It isn't like that…" Hinata stuttered.

"It's alright, Hinata." Sakura said, calming her down. "Just tell us if you need some privacy."

In Naruto's mindscape

Naruto was busy conversing with Kurama about what to do about Esdeath, when they heard Hinata scream "SAKURA!".

"What was that about?" Naruto asked.

"The banshee probably crossed some line for Hinata…" Kurama commented. "Anyway…" they went back to the subject they were talking about.

That evening

On a cliff over looking the Base, a tall man wearing a lab coat and a pair of strange gloves pushed up his spectacles.

"I just knew that that man was suspicious from the moment I first laid eyes on him." Dr. Stylish said. Next to him were three other humans…or more precisely, humans he had modded the crap out of.

One of them had an elongated nose and was smelling the ground like a hound.

Another one has modded eyes that allow him to see vast distances, something like telescopic vision.

The third person was a female with huge bat-like ears.

"…so I put a tracking tag on him that will allow one of my minions to track him anywhere." Stylish continued.

"That is so damn smart of you, Stylish-sama." The modded eyes guy, praised. The other two also voiced their praise.

Soon they came into view of a huge fortified base built into a huge cliff.

"Bingo…we have found their hideout." Stylish said, before ordering his army of minions to begin their attack. But first he sent in his modded assassins to disable any traps, only for one of them to immediately get impaled on a set of spikes that rose from the ground. None of them had seen anything that resembles a trigger mechanism.

"Ok…Plan B it is…" Stylish said, having the assassins circle around the area and open canisters of paralysis poison upwind from the base.

30 minutes later

Naruto woke up to the sound of battle far below him.

 ** _"Hey Naruto…someone is releasing a nerve gas into the area…I am already purging your body of it, so how about going and saving your soon to be fiancée?"_** Kurama suggested.

Naruto quickly got dressed…and made his appearance in the typical Naruto way…

Outside

Everyone else, minus Tatsumi, was lying on the floor, paralysed.

"This is…poison." Akame gasped.

"What? Poison?" Tatsumi asked, looking at her. He was feeling fine.

"That armour of yours must have a filter in it. Do NOT take it off." Sakura said.

Hinata meanwhile was lying a bit apart from everyone, as she had been fighting hand to hand against the aggressors who had no defence against her fighting style.

"Hey, do you think that Stylish-sama will let have some fun with that dark haired one?" one of the modded humans asked. "I mean, she has been handing us our asses the entire time, I am sure we could use hers."

The others happily agreed with him, and before Tatsumi could move in to get her to safety, several heavily muscled men intercepted him, keeping him at bay.

The others and Hinata could only look on in horror as the men surrounding her begin to undo their belts.

 _'Naruto-kun…save me…'_ Hianta prayed, closing her eyes.

Time seemed to slow down for everyone as far above them the window and the wall exploded outward. Everyone looked up, only to see something jump out of the hole that appeared…something orange and…pissed.

"Uhm…who is that?" Mine asked.

Both Hinata and Sakura sighed in relief.

"NARUTO! DON'T HOLD BACK!" the two of them shouted, much to the confusion of the others.

Naruto crashed into the ground, creating a large cloud of dust. Before the dust even had the chance to cease it's upward motion, Naruto came charging out, sword in hand.

What followed proved to be a one sided massacre of the modded humans, who rushed Naruto, trying to overwhelm him, not knowing a few important things:

1\. Naruto is immune to the paralysis poison in the air.

2\. He was pissed and was not holding back one bit.

3\. They threatened someone dear to his heart.

In short, none of them stood a chance. His brutal assault was momentarily ended when a huge man appeared in his way, wielding a very familiar pair of scissors…

Naruto cut off his limbs, saying that Mine can use him as target practise later.

Within minutes every assailant had either been crippled or was dead, and then a huge flying danger beast appeared.

Meanwhile on the cliff

Stylish was not believing what he was hearing…

"Are you saying that Naruto is actually resisting the Poison?" he asked the guy whose eyes he modded…let's call him Eyes.

"Yes, in fact, it appears as though he is not affected by it at all." Eyes said.

"That is impossible. That gas is strong enough to immobilize a Ultra class danger beast with ease." Stylish said. "And he showed no signs of wielding a Teigu himself."

"Could it be that his Teigu is a internal one like General Esdeath's?" Nose asked.

"Impossible. Hers is the only integration type Teigu in existence. The others have all been confirmed to be destroyed centuries ago…oh well, second wave, try to capture him. I wish to find out more about his body."

"OOOH!" an even larger group of modded humans swarmed past them…until suddenly ears looked up.

"Something's coming." She said.

Just as every one of them looked up, a Huge flying Manta flew over them…and something casually hopped off.

Back with the others

"Now what?" Naruto sighed. "Wait, is that Najenda standing on top of that thing."

Hinata, who was holding him close, activated her Byakugan, then smiled. Mine, Lubbock and Leone were freaked out at the sudden appearance of the veins surrounding her eyes.

"It sure is. And it looks like she has brought some backup." She said.

"Wait just a minute…what is that?" Mine asked.

"We'll explain later." Sakura said, suddenly standing up. "Geez, whatever that poison was, it is potent as hell. I just managed to purge it from my system."

Everyone from Night Raid stared at her in shock…and had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. They then looked at Hinata, only to blink as they saw an orange aura surrounding her and Naruto.

"As she said, we'll explain everything later." Naruto said, holding Hinata close. She held him back, feeling comfortable right now…comfortable and safe.

"Some…thing just jumped of that giant flying fish." Hinata suddenly said. "It looks like a human, but isn't human. And it is laying waste to the next wave…damn, Naruto, he may be a contender for you, when you aren't fighting with Kurama…"

"Sounds interesting…" Naruto said, wanting to let go of Hinata.

"You stay here. You are required for some overdue hugs, mister." Hinata said, wrapping her arms around him. "Also, there is still some poison in my system…deal with it."

Any complaints were silenced by her glare.

Timelapse

What happened next could be considered a big mess.

Basically, the newcomer turned the assailants into mincemeat with his weaponized mincer. Then, Stylish, deciding to use his last resort, turned himself into a enormous humanoid creature that had a very powerful regeneration ability.

The newcomer's weapon barely scratched his skin.

Naruto, going all "Fuck this, will explain later.", decided to allow Kurama to stretch his legs for a bit.

In short, it was a titan sized psyco doctor against a titan sized grumpy Fox with a bad case of rock joint.

And whilst the one could recover from basically any damage it sustained, the other could tank hits like nobody's business…actually, Kurama eventually just stayed still because Stylish's punches helped him get rid of the cramps in his muscles…at least according the large fox.

Off to the side, Hinata, despite having been healed fully, continued to remain latched onto the real Naruto whilst his clone took care of the doctor. Naruto and Lubbock put the explanation as her being a female and therefore it was too much trouble to understand why she isn't letting go.

Eventually they all heard Stylish shouting.

"Why are you not dead yet? This is so un-Stylish."

"Doc, meet Kurama, my little friend." Naruto's clone said.

"So, you had a hidden Teigu the entire time. How very interesting." Stylish said. "Why didn't you reveal it to Esdeath?"

"Because if I did, then my entire village would be in jeopardy." Naruto answered. He then prepared a Bijudama to blow the dude to hell.

"Naruto, wait." Sakura shouted. "If you blow him up there, we'll be caught up int the explosion."

"Hmm? Oh, right…I forgot about that…" Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, then thought of a plan that would probably get him killed in the end…he reached over with a chakra arm and picked Akame up. "Your sword kills with only one good hit, right?" he asked.

When she nodded, unsure on what he was planning, he gave a shit eating grin.

Suddenly Akame found herself moving at high speed towards Stylish's main body.

"Happy cutting." Naruto called over, using his chakra tails to keep the titan immobile as he threw her.

Fortunately Akame adapted quickly to the predicament she was in and managed to get a good hit on Stylish.

What followed afterwards…well she expected Naruto to catch her, since she was still kinda paralyzed…

"Uhm…Naruto, aren't you going to catch her?" Tatsumi asked.

"Hmm? There is no need for that." Naruto said. "She'll be fine."

"YOU IDIOT!" everyone else shouted at Naruto, when suddenly a tall man wearing a white robe leapt over the trees and caught her.

"See, I told you so." Naruto said smugly.

Next the he knew, something smashed into the side of his face, sending him tumbling across the ground…and over the cliff some distance away.

"Tell us before you pull shit like that, Baka!" Sakura screeched, paining everyone's ears…and finally they believed what Hinata and Naruto had said that Sakura used to be considered a banshee back when she was younger…that scream was even worse than Mine's.

Pretty soon, Najenda landed the flying beast and she and a hooded person got off.

"I see things have become busy whilst I was away…tell me…has Hinata-san calmed down yet?" she asked.

"Yes she has, Boss." Leone said, pointing a thumb over at the couple, where Hinata had fallen asleep in Naruto's arms…honestly, it was a cute sight…if not enough to piss some people off due to jealousy…namely the three trainees who were peeking at the entire scene from their hiding spot at the top of the base.

Shortly afterwards

Shortly after Naruto returned from his tumble down the cliff, Najenda introduced them to the 2 new recruits: Susanno and Chelsea.

Susanno was a tall humanoid Teigu who had an OCD streak the size of a mountain, as indicated when he first smoothed Mine's ruffled hair, then did the same for everyone else. When he got to Naruto…well, he has been busy trying to tame Naruto's hair ever since then…  
He was a tall person, easily as tall as Bulat, and from what Naruto had seen from his arms, he was just as muscular. His long Navy Blue hair was neat…yet strangely messy, making Naruto wonder why the heck he was trying to comb his hair into oblivion.

Chelsea on the other hand gave Naruto, Hinata and Sakura the impression of a troublemaker…one skilled in infiltration and silent assassination. She had long ginger hair and had a lollipop in her mouth. Naruto heard Kurama mutter something about the Lolli smelling like grape…  
She and Mine immediately hit it off perfectly…in the complete opposite sense of the word.

Another thing with Chelsea…she knows how to get most people to accept her, as seen when she bribed Akame with a treat, asked Lubbock if she should take of her top when he was eying her bust, gave Leone a voucher for an all-you-can-drink special at her favorite Bar…and gave the three trainees some tips on clothing…which got their seal of approval.

When she turned to Naruto, Hinata and Sakura, well…

"Hmm…I don't know what to give you three…you guys seem as though you are all extremely specific on what you like." She said. "For the gentleman…he appears to be a sweets person like me, though not the Lollipop type…what a shame."

Naruto felt a vein bulge on his forehead…sure he liked sweets, but only in moderation…the most he ever had in one go was worth 2 teaspoons of sugar.

"This one…Hmm…you seem to be the type who likes to garden…is that lavender I am smelling?" Chelsea said, looking at Hinata. "You must be a weak wife to blondie there. Otherwise you wouldn't be here…"

Hinata was tempted to Juken her ass into the ground…pretty hard punishment for a gentle touching fighting style…

"And Pinky here…needs the same thing as the other Pinky…Breast pads." Chelsea said the last words for the day…Sakura sent her flying through several trees and a boulder.

"So…I guess that you guys have some questions." Naruto said as he, Hinata and Sakura were the center of attention.

"Damn right you do." Mine screeched, and then spoke like a normal person when Naruto and Hinata glared at her. "I mean, you yourself said that you'd explain things to us later."

The three shinobi sighed.

"That we did." Naruto agreed. "Firstly, the three of us, whilst we have different abilities, all have the same type of power that we were born with…a genetic Teigu if you will." The others' faces told him they didn't believe him.

"With this power, Chakra as it is known to my people, we are capable of doing superhuman things, such as walk on walls and strengthening our bodies muscular and skeletal structure." Sakura said.

"It does however come with the downside of Chakra being created from our very lifeforce, meaning that if we run out of chakra…chances that we will die are extremely high." Hinata finished.

Lubb opened his mouth to speak, but was silenced by Naruto raiding his hand.

"Each of us three has an…advanced Mutation of chakra if you will, that empowers one aspect of our capabilities." Naruto said, closing his eyes. Hinata and Sakura sat up straighter. "I won't say what those are, only that mine has to do with my eyes…" he slightly opened his eyes, shocking everyone other than the other shinobi at the blood red colour. Moments later he closed his eyes again. When they opened once more, they were back to their black color.

"What the…" Mine swore. Even Najenda and Susanno were unnerved by those red eyes.

"Let's just say that these eyes and my sword come from the same person…I won't go into any details however I will tell you that I have far superior reflexes thanks to training with these eyes and have near Eidetic memory." Naruto said.

"My mutation also lies in the eyes." Hinata said, activating her byakugan. "Though mine gives me increased ocular abilities, such as telescopic vision or microscopic vision."

"Mine is one that enhances all of my abilities." Sakura said, pointing at the diamond on her forehead, "With it, I am capable of lifting dozens of tons as well as heal most fatal injuries."

"As for that giant fox you guys saw me, or rather my clone, fight with earlier…well to put it simply, think of me as a prison…and he is the prisoner inside it." Naruto said. "However, the two of us have come to an understanding and formed a strong friendship."

"Hypothetically…If we were to believe you…just how strong is this beast you are talking about?" Najenda asked.

"Watch it…he is a sentient being who is millennia old." Naruto warned. "And as for his strength…he could destroy the Imperial Capital with ease. He is easily capable of killing Esdeath, unless she is able to survive a explosion that has the diameter of several kilometers."

For a moment there is silence. Then…

"Bullshit." Lubb's one word perfectly described the thoughts of all non-shinobi.

 **…**

 **AND DONE!**

 **So, I know that these chapter were a bit fast paced, and I am sorry for that. There just wasn't enough feedback with ideas for me to work with, actually there wasn't any TBH.**

 **Also, for those of you who think that I had Naruto and co reveal chakra to Night Raid too soon, remember that they technically reveal it in Chapter** **9** **.**

 **And as to why there was no epic fight between Tatsumi (in armor) and Wave (in armor), sorry, but they get to slug it out later.**

 **And also, the mystery about Naruto's eyes from way back in the prolog and the first chapter is revealed.**

 **And finally, Naruto is far more mature than in Canon…because he is technically a year older here than during the canon 4** **th** **shinobi war…please keep the flaming to a minimum (aka. Zilch, zero, nothing…)**

 **So, if you like this story and wish to contribute/help, feel free to Review with your Idea(s) or PM me with comments if you don't want your Idea to be saved on the Review page…or don't want me to make a public response to it.**

 **Also, a big shout-out to one of my biggest fans, Anko4Life, who ever since he started reading my work, without fail reviewed each and every chapter/upload I posted.**

 **We have had several conversations on future content and has helped me come up with ideas in most of my currently active stories.**


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